"In  i  n^ 


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1*     SEP  ;^  0  1907     *] 


Divisioa  1-^^ 
Section 


THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST 


VOLUME  II 


MW  ©fagtat: 

Remigius  Lafort,  S.T.L.  , 

Censor. 


^^mprimator  : 

"I^JoHN  M.   Farley, 

Archbishop  of  New  York. 


April  10,  1907. 


THE 

LIFE  OF  CHRIST 

.  By 
MGR.  E.  LE  CAMUS 

Bishop  of  La  Rochelle,  France 
Translated  by 

WILLIAM  A.  HICKEY 

Priest  of  the  Diocese  of  Springfield 
VOLUME  11 


New  York 

The  Cathedral  Library  Association 
MCMVII 


Copyright,  1907,  by 
THE  CATHEDRAL  LIBRARY  ASSOCIATION 

Entered  at  Stationers'  Hall,  London,  England 

Printed,  June,  1907 


THE  TROW  PRESS  •  NEW  YORK 


CONTENTS 

SECOND  VOLUME 


BOOK  II 

(Continued  from  Volume  I) 

Formative  Period  in  Galilee 

Section  II 
Jesiis  Christ  as  Teacher  of  His  Church 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT— THE  CHARTER  OF  THE 

NEW  LAW 

PAGE 

The  Church,  Once  Organised,  Must  Be  Instructed— The  Mount  of 
the  Beatitudes— The  Auditory— The  Sermon  Treats  of  the  Three 
Great  Questions:  Happiness,  Justice,  and  Wisdom— Who  Are  the 
Happy,  and  Who  the  Unhappy— The  Disciples  Must  Make  Justice 
Shine  Before  the  Eyes  of  Men— The  Foundations  of  Justice — The 
Perfection  of  Justice — Of  the  Former  Times  and  of  the  Present— Ad- 
ditions and  Explanations— Modest  ■,  Sincerity,  Discretion— Lessons 
of  Practical  Wisdom,  Charity,  Prudence,  Energy— Works  Must  Fol- 
low Faith  that  the  Edifice  May  Be  Solid— Impressions  of  His  Hear- 
ers. (St.  Matthew  v,  1;  vii,  29;  and  parallel  passages  in  St.  Luke  vi, 
20-49.) 3 

CHAPTER  II 

THE  LAW  OF  MERCY  AND  THE  SINFUL  WOMAN  IN  THE 
HOUSE  OF  SIMON  THE  PHARISEE 

Magdala  and  Its  Evil  Reputation — Where  Simon's  Hospitality  Fails — 
The  Siimer  in  the  Midst  of  the  Banquet— The  Heroism  of  Her  Re- 
pentance—Unfavourable Attitude  of  the  Pharisee — Jesus'  Question 

[v] 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

— The  Lesson  Addressed  to  Simon — A  First  Grace  Begets  Love  and 
Love  Calls  Forth  Pardon — Peace  of  Soul  and  the  New  Life  Created 
by  the  Words  of  Jesus.     (St.  Luke  vii,  36-50.) 31 


CHAPTER   III 
CONTROVERSY  WITH  THE  PHARISEES 

The  Pharisees  Precede  Jesus  to  Capharnaum  to  Calumniate  Him — He 
Is  in  League  with  Beelzebub — His  Crushing  RepHes — The  Defeat 
of  the  Strong  Man— His  Terrible  Revenge — The  Sin  against  the 
Holy  Ghost — Enthusiasm  of  the  Multitude — Asking  for  a  Sign  from 
Heaven — The  Sign  of  Jonas — In  the  Judgment,  the  Queen  of  Saba 
and  the  Ninevites  Will  Confound  the  Children  of  Israel — The  Eye  of 
the  Soul — Faith  Creates  Kinship  with  Jesus.  (St.  Mark  iii,  19-35; 
St.  Matthew  xii,  22-50;  St.  Luke  xi,  17-36.) 41 

CHAPTER   IV 

THE  PARABLES  ON  THE  SHORES  OF  THE  LAKE 

Why  Jesus  Begins  to  Speak  in  Parables— The  Nature  of  the  Parable — 
The  Seed-Sowing  and  Varieties  of  Soil — The  Master's  Detailed  Ex- 
planation— A  Complementary  Parable  in  St.  Mark — The  Grain  of 
Mustard-Seed — The  Leaven — The  Cockle  Among  the  WTieat — 
Jesus'  Explanation — The  Treasure — ^The  Precious  Stone — ^The  Net 
and  the  Definitive  Separation  of  the  Good  from  the  Wicked — The 
True  Teacher,  for  the  Sake  of  His  Hearers,  Varies  His  Manner  of 
Teaching.  (St.  Matthew  xiii,  1-53;  St.  Mark  iv,  1-34;  St.  Luke  viii, 
4-18,  and  xiii,  18-21.) 52 

CHAPTER  V 
THE  MISSION  OF  THE  TWELVE 

A  New  Apostolic  Journey  into  Galilee — The  Women  Who  Follow  Jesus 
— Their  Devotion — The  Master  Determines  to  Introduce  the 
Twelve  to  the  Works  of  the  Apostolate — The  Wise  Instructions  He 
Gives  Them— To  Do  Good  to  the  Man  of  God  Will  Be  the  Same  as 
to  Do  It  to  God  Himself — ^The  Apostles  Depart,  Two  by  Two,  and 
Work  Wonders.     (St.  Luke  viii,  1-3,  and  ix,  1-6;  St.  Matthew  x, 

1-15,  40-42;  St.  Mark  vi,  7-13.) 73 

[vi] 


CONTENTS 

Section  III 
Jesus  Disciplines  His  Church 

CHAPTER  I 

HEROD  ORDERS  JOHN  THE  BAPTIST  TO  BE  PUT  TO 
DEATH 

PAGE 

Popular  Opinion  Regarding  Jesus — Herod's  Terror — How  Two  Wom- 
en, Herodias,  the  Adulteress,  and  Salome,  the  Dancer,  Induced 
Him  to  Sentence  the  Precursor  to  Death — The  Baptist's  Head  on  a 
Charger — Herod  Would  See  Jesus — Danger  of  Sedition — The  With- 
drawal to  Philip's  Territory.  (St.  Mark  vi,  14-16  and  21-29;  St. 
Matthew  xiv,  1  and  6-12;  St.  Luke  ix,  7-9.) 82 

CHAPTER   II 

JESUS  MULTIPLIES  BREAD  AND  WALKS  UPON  THE 
WATER 

His  Motives  for  Escaping  from  the  Enthusiastic  Multitudes — Journey 
to  the  Desert  of  Bethsaida — The  Multitudes  Preceded  Jesus — How 
Shall  Five  Thousand  Men  Be  Nourished  with  Five  Loaves  of  Bread 
and  Tw^o  Small  Fishes  ? — Creative  Power  of  the  Divine  Benediction 
— The  Passover  in  the  Desert — The  People  Show  Their  Political 
Intentions — Jesus  Has  the  Apostles  Embark  in  Order  to  Withdraw 
Them  from  the  Influence  of  the  Multitude — He  Comes  to  Them 
Walking  on  the  Water — Peter  Is  Associated  with  Him  in  the 
IVIiracle — They  Approach  Genesareth.  (St.  Luke  ix,  10-17;  St. 
Mark  vi,  30-56;  St.  Matthew  xiv,  13-36;  St.  John  vi,  1-21.)    .       .     88 

CHAPTER  III 
DISCOURSE  ON  THE  BREAD  OF  LIFE 

The  Partisans  of  a  Political  Messiah  Rejoin  Jesus  at  Caphamaum — 
Jesus  Rejects  Their  Earthly  Views— How  He  Understands  His 
Royalty— He  Is  the  Bread  of  Life  for  Those  Wliom  the  Father 
Brings  to  Him— He  Desires  that  Man  Shall  Receive  Not  Only  His 
Doctrine,  but  Also  His  Flesh  and  His  Blood;  Which  Are  to  Be 
Offered  for  the  Life  of  the  World — The  Meaning  of  the  Offering — 

[vii] 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Perfect  Communion — Dissension  Among  the  Adherents  of  Jesus — 
Peter's  Response — Hypocritical  Silence  of  Judas.  (St.  John  \'i, 
22-71.) 100 


CHAPTER   IV 

THE  PHARISEES  AGAIN  ASSUME  THE  OFFENSIVE 

Renewed  Enthusiasm — The  Ears  of  Corn  Gathered  and  Eaten  on  the 
Sabbath — Jesus'  Twofold  Response — The  Sabbath  Is  for  Man,  Not 
Man  for  the  Sabbath — Eating  with  Unwashed  Hands — A  Counter- 
Question  in  Reply — Jesus'  Sublime  INIorality:  Only  That  Which 
Comes  from  the  Heart  Defiles  a  Man — The  Anger  of  the  Pharisees 
— Jesus'  Appreciation — His  Explanations  to  the  Disciples — The 
Man  with  the  Withered  Hand — Jesus  Questions  His  Adversaries — 
They  Refuse  to  Answer — Their  Resolution  to  Join  with  the  Herod- 
ians  and  to  Put  Jesus  to  Death.  (St.  Luke  \i,  1-11;  St.  Mark  ii, 
23-28;  vii,  1-23;  iii,  1-6;  St.  Matthew  xii,  1-8;  xv,  1-20;  xii,  9-14.)  .   114 

CHAPTER  V 

JESUS   RETIRES   TO  THE   BORDERS   OF   PHCENICIA 
AND  WITHIN  THE  REGION  OF  THE  DECAPOLIS 

Reasons  for  This  Retreat — The  Woman  of  Canaan — Her  Admirable 
Faith — Her  Daughter  Is  Cured — If  Jesus  Saw  Tyre  and  Sidon, 
What  Must  His  Impressions  Have  Been? — The  Road  to  the  De- 
capolis — The  Cure  of  the  Deaf-Mute — Great  Concourse  of  People 
Demanding  Miracles— Universal  Enthusiasm— Second  Multiplica- 
tion of  the  Loaves — Jesus  Leaves  This  Country.  (St.  Matthew  xv, 
21-88;  St.  Mark  vii,  24-37;  \aii,  1-9.) 128 


CHAPTER  VI 

AS  HE  APPROACHES  CAPHARNAUM,  JESUS  FINDS 
THAT  THE  DANGER  STILL  EXISTS 

The  Pharisees  Have  Allied  Themselves  with  Herod's  Partisans — On 
Landing  Jesus  Sees  Them  Approaching — They  Again  Demand  a 
Sign — Why?— Jesus  Replies,  Unmasks  Their  Hypocrisy,  and  Im- 
mediately Departs — His  Thoughts  with  Regard  to  His  Disciples — 

[  viii  ] 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

The  Leaven  of  the  Pharisees  and  of  Herod — ^Their  Great  Mistake — 
They  Understand  at  Last.  (St.  Matthew  xv,  39;  xvi,  1-12;  St. 
Mark  viii,  10-21.) 138 

CHAPTER  VII 
ON  THE  WAY  TO  C/ESAREA-PHILIPPI 

The  Blind  Man  of  Bethsaida — Retreat  Tov.ard  Ciesarea — The  Impor- 
tant Question :  "Who  Do  Men  Say  that  I  Am?  " — ^The  Opinions  of 
the  People — Peter's  Striking  Confession — Tu  Es  Christus — Simon's 
Merit— Tu  Es  Petrus— The  Indefectible  Church  Shall  Have  a  Head 
— Jesus  Foretells  His  Own  Death — The  Scandal  Because  of  the  Mes- 
siah's Humiliation — Hard  Lesson  Given  to  Peter— Beautiful  Teach- 
ing Given  the  Multitude  Concerning  the  Christian  Spirit.  (St.  Mat- 
thew xvi,  13-28;  St.  Mark  viii,  22-38,  and  ix,  1;  St.  Luke  ix,  18-27.)  144 

CHAPTER  VIII 
THE  TRANSFIGURATION 

Why  Jesus  Permitted  Himself  to  Be  Seen  in  a  State  of  Glory — His  Re- 
treat to  the  Mountain  for  Purposes  of  Prayer — ^The  Phenomenon 
of  the  Transfiguration — What  It  Must  Have  Been  in  the  Man-God 
— Jesus  Radiant  Between  Moses  and  Elias — Their  Heavenly  Con- 
ference— The  Emotion  of  the  Three  Apostles — The  Great  Testimony 
of  the  Father — Question  Concerning  Elias — At  the  Foot  of  the 
Mountain  the  Disciples  Are  Worried  and  the  Scribes  Triumph — 
The  Lunatic — Jesus'  Indignation— The  Father's  Touching  Prayer 
— ^The  Power  of  Faith — ^The  Demoniac  Is  Healed — Jesus'  Triumph. 
(St.  Luke  ix,  28-43;  St.  Mark  ix,  2-29;  St.  Matthew  xvii,  1-21.)    .   160 

CHAPTER   IX 

LAST  VISIT  TO  CAPHARNAUM 

Jesus  Again  Speaks  of  His  Death — ^The  Tax-Gatherers  of  Capharnaum 
— Ought  the  Master  to  Pay  the  Tribute  ? — Theoretical  and  Practical 
Solutions  of  the  Question — He  Pays  for  Peter— Jealousy  and  Dis- 
pute Concerning  the  Primacy — Jesus'  Explanation — Admirable 
Theory  as  Regards  the  Primacy — The  Man  Whom  the  Disciples  For- 
bid to  Cast  Out  Demons — Scandal — ^The  Crime  and  Misfortune  of 
Those  Who  Seek  to  Destroy  the  Church  by  Scandalising  Her  Chil- 

[ixl 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

dren— The  Shepherd's  Love  for  His  Sheep.  (St.  Matthew  xvii, 
22-27;  xviii,  1-14;  St.  Mark  ix,  30-50;  St.  Luke  ix,  43-50;  xvii,  1-2; 
XV,  3-7.) 174 

CHAPTER  X 
DISCOURSE  ON  THE  FORGIVENESS  OF  INJURIES 

Jesus'  Reasons  for  Speaking  of  Fraternal  Correction^ — Prudence  and 
Caution  in  Charity— The  Denunciation  to  the  Church — Excommu- 
nication— How  Often  Must  One  Forgive  ? — ^The  Master's  Admira- 
ble Response — The  Parable  of  the  Debtor.  (St.  Matthew  xviii, 
15-35.) 188 

CHAPTER  XI 

THE  SUMMONS  TO  MANIFEST  HIMSELF  IN  JERU- 
SALEM 

The  Worldly  Argimients  of  Jesus'  Brothers — The  Motives  That  Inspire 
Them — The  Feast  of  Tabernacles  in  Jerusalem — Summons  to  Ap- 
pear in  His  True  Light— The  Views  of  Divine  Wisdom — Jesus' 
Hour— The  Ministry  in  Galilee  Is  Ended.     (St.  John  vii,  1-10.)    .   199 


BOOK   III 

Period  of  Combat  in  Judea 

Section  I 
First  Conflict  on  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles 

CHAPTER   I 

THE  SUDDEN  APPEARANCE  OF  JESUS  DURING  THE 
FESTIVAL 

The  Various  Opinions  of  the  Multitude  with  Regard  to  Jesus,  Whom 
They  Would  Like  to  See — His  Sudden  Appearance  in  the  Temple — 
He  Presents  His  Apology  for  His  Teaching  and  His  Conduct — Cat- 
egorical Declarations  Regarding  His  Origin — ^The  Higher  Authori-, 
ties  Cause  Him  to  Be  Watched — The  Solemn  Warning  and  Threat 
Which  He  Addressed  to  His  Enemies.     (St.  John  vii,  11-36.)    .       .  205 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  SOLEMN  DECLARATION  ON  THE  LAST  DAY  OF 
THE  FESTIVAL 

PAOB 

The  Day  That  Came  After  the  Seventh — The  Solemn  Libation — The 
Various  Meanings  of  This  Ceremony — Its  Prophetic  Signification- 
Jesus'  Solemn  Declaration :  He  Is  the  True  Source  of  Living  Water 
— ^The  Impressions  of  the  Multitude  as  They  Heard  Him — They 
Dare  Not  Lay  Hands  on  Him — The  Conference  of  the  Sanhedrim 
After  the  Return  of  the  Emissaries — ^Nicodemus'  Plea.  (St.  John 
vii,  37-52.) 216 

CHAPTER   III 

THE  WOMAN  TAKEN  1n  ADULTERY 

The  Pharisees  Ask  that  Jesus  Act  as  Judge  in  the  Case  of  a  Woman 
Taken  in  Adultery — The  Two-fold  Danger  Which  They  Seek  to 
Create — Jesus  Remains  Silent  and  Writes  Upon  the  Ground — 
What  He  Wrote — The  Words  He  Addresses  to  the  Accusers  Transfer 
the  Question  from  Juridical  to  Moral  Grounds — He  Sustains  the 
Law,  but  Suppresses  the  Accusers — The  Simier  Is  Forgiven.  (St. 
John  vii,  63-viii,  11.) .       .226 

CHAPTER  IV 

JESUS,  THE  LIGHT  OF  THE  WORLD 

The  Illuminations  of  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  and  Their  SymboHsm — 
The  True  Light  of  Mankind  Is  Jesus — Objection  Raised  by  This 
Solemn  Assertion — Reply:  Though  Jesus  Should  Alone  Give  Testi- 
mony of  Himself,  They  Must  Believe  Him;  but  the  Father  Gives 
Testimony  with  Him— "Where  Is  Thy  Father?"— He  Must  Be 
Sought  in  the  Son — ^This  Took  Place  in  the  Court  of  the  Treasury 
and  Within  Hearing  of  the  Sanhedrim.     (St.  John  viii,  12-20.)       .  235 

CHAPTER  V 

THEY  WHO  BELIEVE  ALONE  ARE  FREE  AND  DIE 
NOT 

Jesus  Will  Abandon  Those  Who  Refuse  to  Accept  Him — To  Be  Saved 
One  Must  Believe  that  Jesus  Is  He — Who  Is  He? — Sublime  Defini- 


[xi] 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

tion — The  Jews  Shall  Not  Comprehend  It  Until  Later — Those  Who 
Believe  Alone  Are  Free — Although  They  Call  Themselves  the 
Children  of  Abraham,  the  Jews  Are  Slaves  of  Sin  and  Spiritual  Sons 
of  the  Demon— The  Fury  of  Those  Who  Hear  Him — Immortality 
Promised  to  the  Faithful — Abraham  Is  Less  than  Jesus — Violent 
Ending  of  the  Discussion.     (St.  John  viii,  21-59.)     .       .       .       ,242 

CHAPTER  VI 

THE  MAN   BORN   BLIND 

The  Disciples'  Question  Concerning  Physical  Evil  in  the  Case  of  One 
Born  Blind — Jesus'  Response — Conditions  Under  WTiich  He  Gives 
the  Blind  Man  the  Sense  of  Sight — Siloe  and  Its  Mystical  Significa- 
tion— General  Excitement  Produced  by  the  Miracle — The  Inquisi- 
tion and  W^hat  Came  of  It — ^The  Triumphant  Attitude  of  tlie  Man 
Who  Was  Cured — Results  of  the  Miracle:  for  the  Blind  Man,  Faith; 
for  Others,  Obstinacy  in  Their  Blindness.     (St.  John  ix,  1-41.)     .  256 

CHAPTER  VII 

THE  CHRIST  AND  HIS  FLOCK 

Jesus  Employs  a  Double  Allegory:  He  Is  the  Door  of  the  Fold  and  at 
the  Same  Time  the  Good  Shepherd  of  the  Flock — The  Door  Is  for 
True  Shepherds  Who  Come  There  to  Call  the  Sheep — The  Sheep 
Follow  Them — Whosoever  Enters  by  Any  Other  Way  Is  a  Robber, 
and  the  Flock  Heeds  Him  Not — The  Good  Shepherd  Is  Distin- 
guished from  the  Mercenary  by  His  Devotion  to  His  Flock — ^The 
Two  Flocks  Which  the  Great  Shepherd  Is  to  Unite.  (St.  John  x, 
1-21.) 270 

CHAPTER  VIII 

JESUS  RETURNS  INTO  GALILEE 

WTiy  It  Is  Probable  that  Jesus,  After  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles.  Re- 
turned at  Once  Into  Galilee — His  Task  There,  and  What  Necessi- 
tated His  Absence  from  Jerusalem — Different  Impressions  at  Ca- 
pharnaum 281 


[xii] 


CONTENTS 


Section  II 

Jesus  with  His  Little  Church  Leaves  Galilee  in  View  of  the 
Final  Struggle 

CHAPTER   I 
SOLEMN  DEPARTURE  FROM  CAPHARNAUM 

PAGE 

Resolute  Attitude  of  Jesus  as  He  Advances  to  the  Struggle — Sad  Fare- 
well to  the  Faithless  Cities  of  Galilee — A  Town  in  Samaria  Refuses 
Him  Hospitality — Indignation  of  the  Sons  of  Thunder — The  Spirit 
of  the  Gospel — Three  Candidates  for  the  Apostolate — The  One 
Must  Pause  for  Thought — Another  Must  Advance  Without  Delay 
— Having  Once  Begun,  No  One  MustJLook  Back,  (St.  Luke  ix, 
51-62;  St.  Matthew  viii,  19-22;  xi,  20-24.) 286 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  MISSION  OF  THE  SEVENTY  DISCIPLES 

The  Time  Is  Short,  the  Labourers  Must  Be  Multiplied — The  Great 
Apostolic  Campaign  of  the  Seventy  Disciples — The  Instructions 
Which  They  Receive,  Some  Identical  with  Those  Given  to  the 
Apostles,  Others  for  Them  Alone — Success  of  This  Mission — The 
Disciples  Return  Triumphant — The  Words  of  Jesus — Expressions 
of  Joy  and  Love  for  the  Father.  (St.  Luke  x,  1-24;  St.  Matthew  xi, 
25-30.) 295 


CHAPTER  III 

A  SCRIBE  ASKS:   "WHO  IS  MY  NEIGHBOUR?" 

A  Scribe  Comes  and  Asks  What  One  Must  Do  to  Be  Saved — Love  God 
and  Thy  Neighbour— " Who  Is  My  Neighbour?"— The  Beautiful 
Parable  of  the  Samaritan — In  Misfortune  We  Desire  to  Have  Every 
One  as  a  Neighbour — ^Therefore  the  Afflicted  Must  Be  Our  Neigh- 
bours.    (St.  Matthew  xix,  1 ;  St.  Mark  x,  1 ;  St.  Luke  x,  25-37.)     .  305 

[  2^i"  ] 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  IV 
THE  HOME  OF  MARTHA  AND  MARY 

PAGE 

The  Family  at  Bethany — Martha,  Lazarus,  and  Mary — The  Different 
Characters  of  the  Two  Sisters — Mary's  Is  Easily  Explained,  Es- 
pecially if  She  Was  None  Other  Than  the  Sinner,  Mary  Magdalen — 
Decisive  Reasons  That  Support  This  Hypothesis — Magdalen  Had 
at  That  Time  Gone  Back  to  Bethany — The  Social  Position  of  the 
Family — HospitaUty  Differently  Offered  and  Differently  Understood 
by  the  Sisters — Martha  Is  Troubled,  Whereas  Mary  Listens — Mar- 
tha's Vexation  and  Her  Demand — Jesus'  Reply — A  Lesson  of 
Wisdom.     (St.  Luke  x,  38-42.) 315 

CHAPTER  V 

JESUS  TEACHES  HIS  DISCIPLES  HOW  TO  PRAY 

The  Disciples  and  the  Theory  of  Prayer — The  Lord's  Prayer:  the  In- 
vocation, the  Six  Petitions  in  Particular  and  in  Their  Relations,  the 
Conclusion— The  Efficaciousness  of  Prayer  Proved  by  the  Example 
of  the  Importunate  Friend — The  Paternal  Goodness  of  God.  (St. 
Luke  xi,  1-13;  St.  Matthew  vi,  9-13;  vii,  7-11.)        .       .       .       .328 

CHAPTER  VI 

JESUS  AT  THE  FEAST  OF  THE  DEDICATION 

The  Signification  of  This  Feast — Jesus  in  Solomon's  Porch — He  Is  Be- 
sought to  Explain  Himself — Jesus'  Response:  "/  and  the  Father  Are 
One" — The  Anger  of  the  Jews  at  His  Claim  to  Divinity — The 
Claim  Ought  Not  to  Worry  Them;  Why? — Nor  the  Fact — Jesus 
Asserts  It  a  Second  Time — He  Escapes  from  His  Enemies  and 
Leaves  Jerusalem.     (St.  John  x,  22-39.) 340 

CHAPTER  VII 
ON  THE  ROAD  BACK  TO  PER^A 

Jesus'  Soul  Is  Filled  with  Indignation  Against  the  Pharisees — An  Oc- 
casion That  Causes  It  to  Burst  Forth — Maledictions  Uttered  During 
a  Repast  at  the  House  of  One  of  Them — Grand  and  Beautiful  Les- 
[xiv] 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

son  to  the  Disciples  in  the  Presence  of  the  Multitude — What  We 
Must  and  Must  Not  Fear— Jesus  Refuses  to  Intervene  in  a  Division 
of  Family  Goods — Parable  of  the  Foolish  Rich  Man.  (St.  Luke  xi, 
37;  xii,  21.) 349 


CHAPTER  VIII 

LESSONS  OF  WISDOM  AND  EFFUSIONS  OF  PIETY 

Teachings  on  Abandonment  to  the  Paternal  Kindness  of  God — Simple 
and  Touching  Reasons  That  Favour  It — Our  Treasure  Should  Be 
in  Heaven — Another  Series  of  Teachings  on  Christian  Vigilance — 
Parable  of  the  Servants  Awaiting  Their  Master — The  Son  of  Man 
Comes  Like  a  Thief — Peter's  Question — The  Two  Stewards — Jesus 
Utters  the  Thoughts  That  Oppress  His  Heart— The  Flame  Which 
He  Is  Come  to  Bring  Into  the  World— The  Hour  of  the  Conflict 
Approaches — They  Do  Not  Understand  Him.  (St.  Luke  xii,  22- 
59;  St.  Matthew  vi,  25-33;  vi,  19-21;  xxiv,  43-51;  x,  34-36.)   .       .     360 

CHAPTER  IX 

OTHER   CURES   ON   THE   SABBATH-DAY— A   DINNER 
AT  THE   HOUSE  OF  A  PHARISEE 

Jesus  Is  Well  Received  in  Persea — He  There  Again  Meets  the  Pharisees 
with  Their  Scruples  About  Healing  on  the  Sabbath — ^The  Woman 
"Bowed  Together,"  and  the  Apothegm  on  the  Ass  and  the  Ox 
Loosed  from  the  Manger — ^The  Dropsical  Man  in  the  Pharisee's 
House — Wise  Lessons  Regarding  the  Desire  for  the  First  Places — 
The  Guests  Whom  It  Is  Best  to  Invite,  and  Those  Who  Are  to 
Participate  in  the  Eternal  Banquet — The  Parable  of  the  Great  Sup- 
per.    (St.  John  X,  40-42;  St.  Luke  xiii,  10-17,  and  xiv,  1-24.)   .       .  374 

CHAPTER  X 

THE   SMALL   NUMBER   OF   THE   ELECT,    AND   THE 
REPROBATION  OF  ISRAEL 

Is  It  the  Minority  That  Shall  Be  Saved?— The  Real  Gate  Is  Narrow— 

The  Wide  Gate  Exists  Only  in  the  Imagination  of  Sinners — Woe  to 

the  Jews  Who  Shall  Have  Remained  Outside,  and  Who  Should 

Have  Been  Within — Tidings  from  Jerusalem — There  Are  Greater 

[xv] 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Criminals  than  the  Galileans  Massacred  by  Pilate  or  the  Jews  De- 
stroyed by  the  Tower  of  Siloe — God's  Justice  After  His  Mercy — 
The  Parable  of  the  Barren  Fig-Tree.  (St.  Luke  xiii,  22-30,  and  xiii, 
1-9.) 387 


CHAPTER  XI 

A  FIRST  ENTHUSIASM  NOT  SUFFICIENT  TO  MAKE 
DISCIPLES 

The  Enthusiasm  of  the  Multitudes — Jesus  Explains  What  One  Must 
Do  to  Become  a  Disciple — He  Must  Hate  That  Which  He  Has  Held 
Most  Dear — He  Must  Bear  His  Cross — The  Tower  to  Be  Built  and 
the  War  to  Be  Waged — Salt  Is  Good — The  Plots  of  the  Pharisaical 
Faction  to  Draw  Jesus  Out  of  Peraea — The  Master's  Grave  and 
Solemn  Response.     (St.  Luke  xiv,  25-35;  xiii,  31-33.)     .       .       .  395 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  MERCY  OF  GOD  IN  PARABLES 

God  Pities  the  Sinner,  Because  He  Sees  Him  in  Danger :  the  Parable  of 
the  Lost  Sheep — He  Is  Sorry  for  His  Errors,  Because  a  Man  Given 
to  Sin  Is  One  Just  Man  Less  to  Glorify  Him:  the  Parable  of  the 
Lost  Groat — He  Loves  Him,  Because  the  Sinner  Is  Ever  His  Son: 
the  Parable  of  the  Prodigal  Son — Final  Blow  Aimed  at  the  Jealous 
Pharisees.    (St.  Luke  xv,  1-32.) 402 

CHAPTER  XIII 

WORKS  OF  CHARITY  AND  THE  FUTURE  LIFE 

Works  of  Charity  the  Way  to  Heaven — ^Publicans,  Pharisees,  Sadducees, 
All  Must  Remember  This — ^The  Steward's  Fortunate  Breach  of 
Trust — We  Must  Become  Friends  with  the  Treasures  That  God 
Confides  to  Us — The  Pharisees'  Detestable  Attitude — Another  Par- 
able: Lazarus  and  the  Sinful  Rich  Man — ^The  Judgments  of  the 
Future  Life — Since  Moses  and  the  Prophets  Have  Spoken,  the  Tes- 
timony of  One  Risen  from  the  Dead  Were  Useless.     (St.  Luke 

xvi,  1-31.) 425 

[xvi] 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  HUMILITY  THAT  MARKS  THE  TRUE  SER- 
VANTS OF  GOD 

PAQB 

Pride,  Even  Before  God,  the  Radical  Vice  of  Pharisaism — ^The  Apostles 
Furnish  Jesus  an  Excellent  Opjxjrtunity  to  Condemn  It — "  Increase 
Our  Faith" — In  Strict  Justice,  God  Is  Never  Man's  Debtor — This 
Theory  Is  the  True  Basis  of  Humility — ^The  Parable  of  the  Pharisee 
and  the  Publican.     (St.  Luke  xvii,  5-10;  xviii,  9-14.)      .       .       .  439 

CHAPTER  XV 

JESUS  GOES  TO  BETH.\NY  TO  RAISE  LAZARUS  TO 
LIFE  AGAIN 

The  Message  from  Bethany — ^The  Master's  Response — ^Two  Days' 
Delay — The  Disciples'  Hesitation  to  Go  to  Judea — The  Arrival 
at  Bethany  and  the  Dialogue  with  Martha — Mary  Joins  Her 
Sister — Jesus'  Emotion — "Where  Have  You  Laid  Him?" — Jesus 
Weeps  Before  the  Tomb — The  Motives  of  His  Prayer  to  the  Father 
— "Lazarus,  Come  Forth!" — ^The  Effect  of  the  Miracle  on  Those 
Present.     (St.  John  xi,  1-46.) .       .446 

CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  SANHEDRIM  DECIDES  TO  MAKE  AWAY  WITH 
JESUS— HE  RETREATS  TO  EPHREM 

Solemn  Assembly  of  the  Sanhedrim — A  Probable  Account  of  the  Meeting 
— Coarse  and  Brutal  Words  of  Caiphas — His  Involuntary  Prophecy 
— Jesus  Retreats  to  Ephrem — ^The  Apostles  Must  Pray  Constantly 
That  the  Kingdom  of  God  May  Come — Parable  of  the  Unjust  Judge 
and  the  Widow.     (St.  John  xi,  47-54;  St.  Luke  xviii,  1-8.)     .       .461 

CHAPTER  XVII 

HOW  THE  FIRST  BECOME  LAST  AND  THE  LAST 
FIRST 

Of  Ten  Lepers  Who  Are  Healed,  Only  One  Shows  Gratitude — He  Is  a 
Samaritan  Whom  Faith  Makes  Whole — Parable  of  the  Labourers 
Sent  to  the  Vineyard — The  Significance  of  the  Penny  Given  to  Each 
[  xvii  ] 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

One — The  Call  to  Salvation  Not  Identical  with  Salvation  Itself — 
Story  of  the  Rich  Young  Man — After  Having  Observed  the  Com- 
mandments, He  Hesitates  Before  the  Evangelical  Counsels — His 
Riches  a  Hindrance  to  His  Entering  Heaven — Peter's  Question — 
The  Reward  of  Those  Who  Abandon  All.  (St.  Luke  x\ii,  12-19; 
St.  Matthew  xx,  1-16;  St.  Luke  xviii,  18-30;  St.  Mark  x,  17-31;  St. 
Matthew  xix,  16-30.) 469 

CHAPIER  XVIII 

MARRIAGE,   CELIBACY,  AND  CHILDREN  IN   THE 
EYES  OF  JESUS 

The  Great  Question  of  Divorce — Hillel  and  Schammai — Jesus  Is  for 
God  Against  Both — He  Recalls  and  Restores  the  Primitive  Ordi- 
nance—Admirable Argumentation — The  Objection  Taken  from 
Moses,  and  Its  Answer — Absolute  Indissolubility  According  to  the 
New  Law — ^The  Excellence  of  Celibacy — Benediction  of  Little  Chil- 
dren. (St.  Matthew  xix,  3-15;  St.  Mark  x,  2-16;  St.  Luke  xviii, 
15-17.) 487 


[  xviii  ] 


PART   SECOND 

(Continued  from  Volume  I) 

THE    PUBLIC    LIFE    OF    THE    SAVIOUR 


BOOK  II 

(Continued  from  Volume  I) 
Formative  Period  in  Galilee 

Section    II 
Jesus    Christ  as  Teacher  of  His  Church 

CHAPTER    I 

THE   SERMON    ON    THE    ISIOUNT— THE 
CHARTER   OF   THE   NEW    LAW 

The  Church,  Once  Organised,  Must  Be  Instructed 
— The  Mount  of  the  Beatitudes — The  Auditory 
— The  Sermon  Treats  of  the  Three  Great  Ques- 
tions: Happiness,  Justice,  and  Wisdom — Who  Are 
the  Happy,  and  Who  the  Unhappy — The  Disci- 
ples Must  Make  Justice  Shine  Before  the  Eyes 
of  Men — The  Foundations  of  Justice — The  Per- 
fection OF  Justice — Of  the  Former  Times  and  of 
the  Present — Additions  and  Explanations — Mod- 
esty, Sincerity,  Discretion — Lessons  of  Practical 
Wisdom,  Charity,  Prudence,  Energy — Works  Must 
Follow  Faith  that  the  Edifice  May  Be  Solid — Im- 
pressions OF  His  Hearers.  (St.  Matthew  v,  1 ;  vii,  29 ; 
and  parallel  passages  in  St.  Luke  vi,  20-49.) 

Our  Lord's  great  catechetical  discourses  naturally  fol- 
low the  selection  of  the  twelve  Apostles.  The  first  effort 
toward  the  official  organisation  of  the  youthful  Church 

[3] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

was  to  be  succeeded  by  the  promulgation  of  the  law  which 
was  to  rule  her  members,  and  of  the  dogmas  which  were 
to  be  the  object  of  her  faith.  A  society  is  not  founded 
simply  by  the  exterior  act  which  brings  individuals  into 
a  single  whole,  nor  by  any  special  adoption  of  a  name 
which  distinguishes  them  from  the  rest  of  mankind.  It 
must  be  cast  in  an  intellectual  mould  which  will  give  it 
uniqueness  and  furnish  it,  at  the  same  time,  with  a  definite 
formative  principle  of  being.  Its  members  must  needs 
live  by  the  same  breath,  in  virtue  of  a  common  inspiration 
and  of  common  hopes.  What  the  soul  is  to  the  body  their 
own  common  doctrine  will  be  to  this  society.  Hence  Jesus' 
very  first  thought,  in  His  desire  to  form  the  Church  accord- 
ing to  His  own  likeness,  must  have  been  to  bestow  upon 
her  His  own  thought,  as  the  indispensable  element  of  her 
hfe,  embracing,  at  once,  both  the  realm  of  dogma  and  the 
realm  of  morals,  which  constitute  the  speculative  and  the 
practical  sides  of  the  new  faith. 

Doubtless  He  had  not  waited  until  now  to  begin  this  diffi- 
cult task.  From  the  outset  of  His  public  life  He  had 
divided  the  long  days  of  His  Apostolate  between  healing 
the  sick  and  instructing  the  ignorant.  But  the  importuni- 
ties of  the  multitude,  who  demanded  miracles  above  every- 
thing else,  made  continuous  and  well-developed  teaching 
almost  an  impossibility.  There  had  been  prodigies  enough 
to  inspire  belief,  but  faith  must  now  be  quickened  by 
doctrine.  The  future  of  the  Church  depends,  in  part, 
on  the  religious  knowledge  of  the  Apostles.  Therefore, 
though  miraculous  works  are  still  to  go  on,  they  shall  hence- 
forth be  relegated  to  a  secondary  place  in  the  Gospel  his- 
tory.    The  discourses  are  now  to  become  the  essential  part. 

The  first  which  we  have  to  study,  and  which  according 
to  St.  Luke  immediately  follows  the  selection  of  the  Twelve, 
is  called  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.     It  is  of  capital  im- 

[4] 


BOOK  II]     THE   SERMON   ON   THE   MOUNT 

portance,  inasmuch  as  it  exposes  the  Master's  ideas  of  the 
three  questions  that  concern  our  moral  Hfe,  namely,  happi- 
ness, justice,  and  wisdom}  We  may  rightly  say  that  this 
was  in  a  way  the  charter  of  the  New  Law.  St.  Luke  has 
preserved  for  us  only  an  abridgment  of  it.  St.  Matthew, 
who,  as  Papias  says,  took  special  pains  to  gather  Our 
Lord's  sayings,  presents  this  discourse  with  a  wealth  of 
development.  Owing  to  the  analogous  nature  of  the  sub- 
jects, and  through  the  force  of  a  simple  association  of 
ideas,  he  has  even  inserted  some  fragments,  which  on  St. 
Luke's  authority  we  shall  place  where  they  more  naturally 
belong.^  Even  without  these  fragments,  the  discourse  re- 
mains comparatively  of  such  length  that  some  have  ad- 
vanced the  opinion  that  it  was  not  a  single  instruction 
but  a  summary  of  successive  teachings  which  Jesus  gave 
to  the  people  during  His  sojourn  upon  the  mount.  This 
hypothesis  is  not  improbable,  if  we  admit  that  the  Saviour 
detained  the  multitude  for  some  time  in  the  solitary  places 
where  He  seemed  temporarily  to  have  established  Himself.^ 

*  M.  Godet,  in  his  Commentary  on  St.  Luke,  3d  edit.,  proposes  another 
division  of  Jesus'  discourse  which  deserves  notice:  1st,  the  call  of  those  who 
were  to  constitute  the  new  society;  2d,  the  fundamental  principles  of  that 
society;  3d,  the  responsibilities  of  its  members.  We  thuik  it  can  be  con- 
nected with  our  own.  Jesus  promises  happiness  to  those  whom  He  calls, 
He  prescribes  justice  to  those  who  come,  and  He  recommends  wisdom  to 
those  who  remain  with  Him. 

^  It  is  certainly  not  impossible  that  Our  Lord  should  have  more  than  once 
repeated  the  same  instructions,  yet  it  is  not  probable  that  His  rich  nature, 
in  expounding  the  same  thoughts,  always  had  servile  recourse  to  the  same 
figures  and  often  to  the  same  expressions.  Inasmuch  as  it  is  evident  that 
St.  Matthew  did  not  seek  to  maintain  the  strictest  order  in  his  narrative,  we 
may  reasonably  suppose  that  he  was  not  much  more  concerned  about  ad- 
hering to  it  in  his  discourses.  As  he  groups  together,  simply  because  they 
have  an  analogous  meaning  (ch.  xiii),  parables  separated  from  each 
other  by  several  incidents,  so  he  may  have  united  in  one  great  moral  thesis 
diverse  fragments  that  refer  to  the  development  of  the  spiritual  hfe. 

^  By  explaining  the  terms  KadliravTOi  uvtov  as  establishing  Himself  in- 
stead of  seating  Himself,  we  more  easily  do  away  witli  all  difficulties 
arising  from  the  apparent  divergences  of  St.  Luke.  But  this  translation, 
which,  moreover,  is  not  the  most  natural,  is  not  absolutely  necessary  to  harmo- 
nise the  accounts  of  the  two  Evangelists.    For  it  is  enough  to  remember  that 

[5] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

If  Koroun-Hattin  is  really  identical  with  the  Mount  of 
the  Beatitudes  they  were,  at  the  time,  not  far  from  the 
road  that  led  to  Capharnaum,  in  sight  of  those  wild  and 
rocky  defiles  of  Arbela  where  Herod,  in  his  pursuit  of 
the  Zealots,  had  caused  movable  cages  to  be  suspended 
from  the  almost  inaccessible  precipices,  thus  enabling  his 
soldiers  to  reach  the  champions  of  national  independence 
in  their  solitary  retreats.  The  Mount  of  the  Beatitudes 
rises,  in  fact,  to  the  south-west  of  Arbela,  at  the  eastern 
extremity  of  the  beautiful  plain  of  Sephoris,  at  about  two 
hours'  distance  from  Tiberias  and  three  from  Magdala. 
Because  of  its  peculiar  formation  and  the  small  village 
located  upon  its  northern  slope  the  Arabs  have  named  it 
the  Horns  of  Hattin.  A  broad  plateau  spreads  out  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the  level  of  the  highway 
which  runs  along  it  to  the  south,  and  between  two  peaks 
of  irregular  height,  in  which,  on  the  east  and  on  the  west, 
the  mountain  terminates.  Sections  of  rock,  which  bear 
traces  as  of  a  circle  of  picturesque  seats,  seem  to  attest 
that  here  in  former  times  some  august  assembly  had  con- 
vened. Upon  the  peak  to  the  east  is  a  small  and  perfectly 
level  space,  quite  uniform,  and  measuring,  perhaps,  three 
hundred  paces  in  circumference.  In  this  spot  Jesus  passed 
a  whole  night  in  prayer  before  He  made  His  selection  of 
Apostles.  From  here  He  descended  into  the  second  pla- 
teau, which  St.  Luke  calls  "a  level  place,"  *  and  there  re- 
joined the  people  who  were  awaiting  Him. 

here,  as  in  the  calling  of  the  four  on  the  shore  of  the  lake,  St.  Matthew 
abridges,  while  St.  Luke  gives  the  details.  Thus,  the  first  Synoptic  simply 
says  that  Jesus  climbed  the  mountain  and  preached  there;  the  third  tells 
us  that  He  passed  the  night  on  the  moimtain  top,  and  that  then,  having 
chosen  the  Twelve,  He  descended  into  a  plain  upon  its  slope.  There  He 
halted  {tarri)  according  to  St.  Luke,  whereas  He  sat  down  according  to 
St.  Matthew.     What  contradiction  is  there  between  the  two  Evangelists  ? 

*  This  is  the  meaning  of  M  rSirov  ireSivod.     If  he  meant  to  designate  the 
plain,  he  would  have  said  eirl  TreSlov.      The  author  passed  through  these 

[6] 


BOOK  II]    THE   SERMON   ON   THE    MOUNT 

The  gathering  was  made  up  of  people  from  all  parts. 
First,  Galilee,  and  then  Judea  and  Jerusalem,  Decapolis, 
the  lands  beyond  the  Jordan,  even  the  heathen  countries, 
such  as  Idumaea,  Tyre,  and  Sidon,  were  represented  by  pil- 
grims, some  of  whom  were  in  search  of  instruction,  while 
others  sought  to  be  cured  or  wished  only  to  see  through 
curiosity. 

The  multitude  was  grouped  around  Jesus  quite  natu- 
rally in  hierarchical  order.  Like  an  immense  crown,  the 
nameless  crowd  enclosed  the  disciples  in  a  circle  of  honour, 
and  the  latter  in  their  turn  respectfully  surrounded  the 
group  of  newly  chosen  Apostles.  The  Master  presided. 
And  here  we  find  the  first  integral  representation  of  the 
Church  united  about  her  Head,  with  her  ministers  of  the 
first  and  second  orders  and  the  people.  The  Saviour,  thus 
contemplating  His  work,  must  have  experienced  a  serene 
joy.  At  last  there  was  the  Israel  of  the  second  alliance, 
living  and  awaiting  the  bread  of  the  Word.  St.  Matthew 
says:  "Jesus,  opening  His  mouth,  taught  them." 

Of  the  many  questions  which  He  might  have  made  the 
theme  of  His  instruction.  He  deemed  it  best  to  begin  with 
that  of  happiness.  The  philosophy  of  all  ages  had  been 
occupied  with  it,  but  had  never  dreamed  of  solving  it  in 
the  sense  in  which  the  new  religion  would  expound  it. 
Jesus  is  to  make  relative  happiness  identical  with  humility 
in  the  present  life,  and  absolute  happiness  with  the  joys 
of  the  life  to  come. 

"Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit,  for  theirs  Is  the  King- 
dom of  Heaven !"  With  these  words  He  first  declares 
happy  those  souls  who,  in  their  detachment  from  the  goods 
of  earth,  are  great  enough  to  despise  them,  though  they 

places  in  the  spring  of  1899.  They  agree  well  with  the  terrible  memories 
that  Josephus  {Antiq.,  xiv,  15,  4,  5;  B.  J.,  i,  16,  2-4)  has  associated  with 
their  name. 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [pakt  second 

possess  them,  or  not  to  desire  them  when  they  have  them 
not.  The  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  their  right,  their  as- 
sured possession.  One's  flight  toward  the  higher  world 
is  never  loftier  than  when  one  is  free  from  entangle- 
ment in  the  snares  of  matter.  To  despise  earth  is  to 
purchase  heaven. 

"Blessed  are  the  meek,  for  they  shall  possess  the  land !" 
Meekness,  the  flower  of  charity  whose  sweet  fragrance 
checks  the  hand  that  is  about  to  pluck  it,  receives  the  prom- 
ise of  ruling  the  land.  Violence  is  not  durable;  it  is  con- 
demned to  devour  itself;  and,  in  any  case,  it  can  produce 
only  victims  or  malcontents.  Those  who  employ  it  leave 
behind  them  naught  but  hateful  memories.  Meekness, 
which  is  yet  a  force,  but  a  restrained  force,  is  at  all  times 
unchanging  and  beneficent.  Its  power  is  the  greater  the 
more  directly  it  is  exercised  on  hearts.  If  it  conquers, 
it  conceals  its  triumphs  beneath  the  honest  assertions  of 
most  tender  kindness.  He  who  has  received  it  as  his  por- 
tion, or  who  has  acquired  it  by  labour,  may  esteem  himself 
blessed.  His  influence  in  the  world  will  be  great;  but 
greater  yet  will  be  his  merit  before  God.  His  certain 
recompense  is  in  particular  the  promised  land  of  God's  king- 
dom, triumph  in  eternity. 

"Blessed  are  they  that  mourn,  for  they  shall  be  com- 
forted." Tears,  however  bitter,  are  still  a  blessing.  If 
they  are  caused  by  deception,  they  may  be  likened  to  a 
veil  that  falls  from  our  eyes  and  discloses  to  us  life  in  its 
sad  reality.  If  they  are  caused  by  repentance,  they  are 
a  cleansing  sacrament ;  if  by  love,  they  are  a  cry  that  does 
violence  to  heaven  itself.  God  resists  not ;  He  gives  Him- 
self to  the  loving  heart  that  calls  Him.  The  Messiah's 
coming  is  the  best  argument  to  prove  that.  He  comes 
to  tell  those  who  lOve  God,  I  am  the  proof  that  God  loves 
you ;  to  those  who  repent  of  their  sins,  they  are  forgiven 

[8] 


BOOK  II]    THE   SERMON   ON   THE   MOUNT 

you ;  to  those  who  weep  for  their  f olhes,  henceforth  I 
shall  be  your  light ;  and  all  are  greatly  comforted. 

"Blessed  are  they  that  hunger  and  thirst  after  justice, 
for  they  shall  be  filled."  This  ardent  desire  of  justice  is 
the  characteristic  mark  of  great  spirits.  It  makes  itself 
felt  in  the  soul  with  a  violence  like  that  of  the  most  impera- 
tive needs  of  our  material  nature,  hunger  and  thirst.  And 
nothing  is  more  natural;  justice  is  the  true,  the  beautiful, 
and  the  good,  for  which  our  souls  have  been  created;  the 
spirit  in  us  demands  this  divine  nourishment,  just  as  our 
bodies  must  have  food  and  drink.  Unfortunately  the 
majority  of  men  stifle  this,  the  soul's  natural  cry;  but 
blessed  is  he  who  asks  for  God  and  His  justice.  He  shall 
have  them  and  shall  be  filled  with  their  delights ;  Jesus 
brings  them  both. 

"Blessed  are  the  merciful,  for  they  shall  obtain  mercy." 
Kindness  begets  kindness.  If  the  heart  readily  turns 
toward  all  who  suffer,  in  order  to  sympathise  with  them 
in  their  pain,  to  assuage  it,  to  check  it,  it  is  not  possible 
that  God,  in  Whose  sight  we  are  all  beggars  in  various 
stages  of  misery,  should  fail  to  turn  toward  us  to  touch,  to 
heal,  and  to  lift  us  up.  Nothing  more  surely  reaches  Our 
Heavenly  Father's  heart  than  the  sight  of  our  own  heart's 
charity  for  our  earthly  brethren.  His  mercy  is  the  reward 
of  ours. 

"Blessed  are  the  clean  of  heart,  for  they  shall  see  God." 
The  soul's  eye,  like  the  body's  eye,  may  see  only  when  it 
is  undimmed.  If  it  is  in  any  way  tarnished,  it  discerns 
only  imperfectly  the  objects  upon  which  it  looks.  If  it 
is  absolutely  defiled,  it  sees  absolutely  nothing.  Hence  we 
know  how  it  is  that  impurity,  injustice,  and  pride  are 
commonly  associated  with  Infidelity,  and  that  an  evil  life 
leads  to  atheism.  Whatever  name  we  give  it,  uncleanness 
introduced  into  the  soul  intercepts  the  visual  ray.     The 

[9] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [paet  second 

power  of  insight  fails ;  belief  ceases ;  and  faith  is  even  de- 
clared to  be  impossible.  The  unsullied  heart,  or  even  the 
heart  to  which  repentance  has  given  back  its  life,  finds,  on 
the  other  hand,  that  faith  is  easy  and,  as  it  were,  quite 
natural.  All  things  speak  to  it  of  God,  and  invite  it  to 
familiar  intercourse  with  Him.  In  all  creatures  it  beholds 
His  image,  and  at  the  close  of  its  meditations  it  hears  His 
voice.  Yet  this  earthly  vision,  however  consoling,  is  merely 
the  prelude  and  the  guarantee  of  the  clear  vision  in  heaven. 

"Blessed  are  the  peacemakers,  for  they  shall  be  called 
the  children  of  God."  The  Heavenly  Father  has  in  the 
depth  of  His  divine  being  a  peace  that  nothing  can  disturb, 
and  He  is  forever  pouring  it  abroad  for  the  happiness  of 
His  creatures.  Thus  His  true  children  are  those  whom 
nothing  can  move,  since  they  are  at  peace  with  themselves ; 
and  the  testimony  of  their  conscience  sets  them  above  all 
life's  agitations.  This  calmness,  this  serenity,  this  quiet 
of  mind  spreads  around  them  a  sweet  and  peaceful  atmos- 
phere that  charms  and  transforms  those  who  come  near 
them.  The  children  of  God,  having  peace  themselves,  com- 
municate it  to  others. 

"Blessed  are  they  that  suffer  persecution  for  justice' 
sake,°  for  theirs  is  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.  Blessed  are 
ye  when  they  shall  revile  you  and  persecute  you  and  speak 
all  that  is  evil  against  you,  untruly,  for  My  sake ;  be  glad 
and  rejoice,  for  your  reward  is  very  great  in  heaven.  For 
so  they  persecuted  the  prophets  that  were  before  you." 

Such  are  the  various  classes  of  men  to  whom  blessedness 

is   promised !      Such   the    Church   in   her    fulness    as    her 

Founder    conceives    her !      Such    the    story    of    the    elect ! 

Whoever   is   humble,   patient,  afflicted,   devoted,    detached 

*  St.  Augustine,  in  Ps.  xxxiv,  13,  says  very  wisely :  "  Martyres  non  facit 
poena,  sed  causa.  Nam  si  poena  faceret  martyres,  omnia  metalla  martyribus 
plena  essent;  omnes  catenae  martyres  traherent;  omnes  qui  gladio  feriuntur 
coronarentur.     Nemo  ergo  dicat:  Quia  patior,  Justus  sum,"  etc. 

[10] 


BOOK  II]    THE   SERMON   ON   THE   MOUNT 

from  the  goods  of  earth,  in  love  with  virtue  and  with  duty, 
and  this  without  noise  or  violence,  is  inscribed  a  citizen  of 
the  new  kingdom.  The  Church  will  receive  no  others,  and 
if  it  happened  that,  at  times,  the  spirit  of  men  should  give 
her  any  strength  other  than  that  of  her  patience,  her 
charity,  her  sorrow,  her  poverty,  her  mercy,  her  sanctity, 
it  would  be  always  to  the  detriment  of  her  true  good  and 
future  influence. 

No  doubt  these  assertions  read  like  a  series  of  para- 
doxes, but  not  one  of  them  is  as  strange  as  that  of  the 
Cross.  Yet  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  folly  of  the  Cross 
has  saved  the  world.  By  the  theory  of  happiness,  as  Jesus 
expounds  it,  the  Church  is  to  be  forever  young,  flourish- 
ing, and  respected.  They  love  her  not  who  seek  to  guide 
her  to  her  triumph  by  any  other  path. 

As  if  He  feared  that  His  thought  might  not  have  been 
understood,  or  that  His  hearers  might  not  have  been  dis- 
posed to  receive  it,  the  Saviour  repeats  it  under  another 
form,  stronger  and  more  emphatic.^ 

"Woe  to  you  that  are  rich,  for  you  have  your  consola- 
tion !"  '^  They  have  the  wealth  of  this  present  life,  and  it 
sufl5ces  for  them.  Their  souls  feed  upon  it,  find  in  it  their 
joy,  their  happiness,  their  last  end.  Gold  thus  takes  the 
place  of  God.  Hence  it  is  a  great  misfortune.  And 
as  worldly  success  always  makes  vice  easy,  it  turns  out  as 
by  a  kind  of  fate  that  man  without  God  to  fear  and  puff'ed 
up  with  vices  to  gratify,  buries  himself  in  the  degrad- 

"  We  find  this  in  St.  Luke.  He  gives  an  abridgment  of  the  exposition 
of  the  Beatitudes,  preserving  only  four  of  the  eight;  and  yet  he  depicts  the 
Saviour  uttering  four  maledictions  parallel  with  the  four  benedictions  He 
had  pronounced.  So,  in  ancient  days  Israel  had  been  invited  to  observe 
the  law  of  God,  according  to  the  prescriptions  of  Moses  (Deut.  xxvii,  11), 
in  a  series  of  blessings  and  maledictions,  which  came  down  alternately 
from  Garizini  and  from  Ebal. 

'  This  is  a  proof  that  the  first  Beatitude  really  speaks  of  poverty,  properly 
so  called,  or  at  least  of  the  liberty  of  the  soul  so  far  as  the  goods  of  this  life 
are  concerned,  and  not  of  humility,  or  of  ignorance,  or  of  simplicity  of  spirit. 

[11] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

ing  life  of  the  senses,  and,  rejoicing  in  time,  laughs  at 
eternity. 

"Woe  to  you  that  are  filled,  for  you  shall  hunger!" 
The  license  that  fills  a  man  with  pleasure  during  this  life, 
procures  for  him  a  most  awful  famine  after  death. 

"Woe  to  you  that  now  laugh,  for  you  shall  mourn  and 
weep !"  The  eternal  deception,  the  terrible  awakening  in 
the  future  Hfe,  await  the  senseless  revellers,  who  now  are 
deafened  by  their  own  laughter,  and  spend  their  lives  in 
self-contentment,  without  giving  a  moment  to  self-exam- 
ination or  to  the  knowledge  of  their  own  unworthiness. 

"Woe  to  you  when  men  shall  bless  you,  for  according  to 
these  things  did  their  fathers  to  the  false  prophets !" 
When  a  man  accepts  such  approbation  from  the  world,  it 
is  a  sign  that  he  flatters  human  passion  instead  of  check- 
ing it. 

To  the  guilty  the  Apostle  must  be  unhesitatingly  like 
his  conscience,  which  is  severe;  like  the  voice  of  justice, 
which  binds  and  holds  in  chains ;  like  the  sting  of  remorse, 
which  rouses,  persecutes,  and  tortures ;  otherwise  he  would 
betray  the  sacred  duties  of  his  ministry.  Though  men 
should  rise  in  anger  against  him,  though  they  curse  him, 
though  they  persecute  him,  all  this  is  natural.  It  is  for 
him  not  to  waver. 

"Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth,"  exclaims  Jesus ;  "but  if 
the  salt  lose  its  savour,  wherewith  shall  it  be  salted.'*  It 
is  good  for  nothing  any  more,  but  to  be  cast  out  and  to 
be  trodden  on  by  men."  As  salt  preserves  food  from  final 
decomposition,  so  religious  truth,  if  it  endure,  is  to  guard 
the  world  against  the  principles  of  dissolution  which  it 
naturally  has  within  itself,  and  to  save  it  from  barbarism. 
If  truth  be  behttled,  disfigured,  obliterated,  the  salt  with- 
out its  savour  will  be  but  a  false  and  impotent  wisdom ;  it 
will  differ  not  from  the  mass  it  was  destined  to  preserve 

[12] 


BOOK  II]    THE   SERMON   ON   THE   MOUNT 

and  to  transform.  Men  will  trample  under  foot  this  truth, 
corrupted  like  all  the  rest,  and  there  shall  be  only  universal 
death. 

"Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world.  A  city  seated  on  a 
mountain  cannot  be  hid.  Neither  do  men  light  a  candle 
and  put  it  under  a  bushel,  but  upon  a  candlestick,  that  it 
may  shine  to  all  that  are  in  the  house."  The  Apostles 
have  not  received  the  dignity  of  Apostleship  to  remain  un- 
known ;  the  disciples  who  are  drawn  from  every  rank  and 
walk  of  life  have  not  received  the  light  of  the  Gospel  to 
conceal  it.  What  has  been  conferred  on  them  is  not  for 
themselves,  it  is  also  and  especially  for  others.  The  truth 
they  possess  must  shine  and  enlighten  those  that  sit  in 
darkness.  Jesus  enthusiastically  hails  this  glorious  city, 
the  Church,  which  He  beholds  already  raised  to  the  summit 
of  the  mountain  and  giving  light,  as  a  beacon,  to  man- 
kind seated  at  her  feet.  "So  let  your  light  shine  before 
men,  that  they  may  see  your  good  works,  and  glorify  your 
Father,  who  is  in  heaven."  The  virtuous  man  gains 
credence  for  virtue,  and  thereby  for  the  moral  law  and  for 
the  lawgiver ;  the  disciple  by  his  life  is  his  master's  pride ; 
the  son  by  his  resemblance  ought  to  make  his  father  known 
and  admired.  Jesus  intends  that  the  sanctity  of  His 
faithful  shall  be  itself  an  eloquent  sermon. 

Such  are  the  thoughts  that  serve  as  a  transition  to  the 
principal  part  or  body  of  the  discourse:  Why  is  sanctity 
or  justice  the  fundamental  duty  of  every  citizen  In  the 
new  kingdom.'' 

Jesus  begins  by  declaring  that  the  basis  of  justice  Is 
ever  the  same.  To-morrow,  as  yesterday,  it  will  rest  upon 
the  sum  of  the  moral  precepts  that  fill  the  Old  Testament. 
There  is  no  question  here  of  Mosaic  ceremonialism.®    Tran- 

*  This  observation,  absolutely  well  founded,  is  in  our  opinion  the  best 
solution  of  the  diflSculty  raised  concerning  the  words  of  Jesus  that  follow, 

[13] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

sitory  and  symbolical,  merely,  that  ceremonialism  must  have 
an  end.  "Do  not  think,"  says  Jesus,  "that  I  am  come  to 
destroy  the  law  or  the  prophets  ;  I  am  come  not  to  destroy, 
but  to  fulfil.  Amen  I  say  unto  you,  till  heaven  and  earth 
pass,  one  jot  or  one  tittle  shall  not  pass  of  the  law,  till  all 
be  fulfilled."  Founded  in  the  very  essence  of  things,  the 
moral  law  has  its  final  motive  in  God.  For  it  is  but  an 
emanation,  a  ray  of  the  eternal  law,  as  imperishable  as  God 
Himself.  Hence  Jesus  suppresses  nothing.  His  mission 
is  to  explain  it,  to  put  it  more  clearly  before  men  by  posi- 
tive precepts,  to  make  its  spirit  felt  by  disengaging  it 
from  the  ridiculous  superfluities  with  which  the  Rabbis 
have  overladen  it.  As  needless  and  as  profitless  as  were 
the  additions  of  the  Rabbis,  so  essential  and  so  sacred 
for  aU  the  faithful  shall  be  the  development  that  Jesus 
gives  forth.  New  rays  of  eternal  truth  turned  upon 
man's  eyes  are  to  modify  the  horizon  of  our  life.  The 
Rabbis  have  given  a  mechanical  interpretation  to  the 
law;  Jesus  comes  to  spiritualise  it,  and,  though  it  will 
be  essentially  the  same  as  before,  the  moral  rule  of 
mankind  will  be  henceforth  more  visibly  like  the  eternal 
rule  that  guides  God  Himself.  Therefore,  the  precepts 
He  will  promulgate  ^  are  of  the  highest  importance ;  they 

If  we  admit  that  by  the  law  He  means  the  Mosaic  observances,  we  shall 
find  it  difBcnlt  to  explain  His  manner  of  treating  the  ablutions,  and  the 
external  purifications,  and  the  question  of  the  Sabbath.  Who  will  venture  to 
say  that  in  practice  Jesus  has  not  suppressed  even  one  iota  of  the  legal 
formalism?  To  be  sure,  many  think  that  He  meant  to  maintain  INIosaism 
and  all  its  prescriptions  during  His  hfe.  They  declare  that  He  could  not 
do  otherwise  without  being  imprudent,  and  that,  in  default  of  this.  He  would 
not  have  been  understood  even  by  His  friends.  Finally,  it  is  said.  His 
words  on  this  subject  are  categorical.  Yes,  and  so  much  so,  indeed,  that  if 
we  accept  them  without  restriction,  Mosaism,  with  its  complex  system  of 
laws,  would  have  to  survive  heaven  and  earth,  which  is  not  the  case.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  we  see  that  St.  Paul  understood  them  quite  diiferently,  and, 
at  the  proper  time,  he  leads  the  Apostles  and  the  Church  to  understand  them 
as  he  does. 

"  By  giving  this  meaning  to  the  demonstrative  roirwv  the  succession  of 
ideas  in  Our  Lord's  discourse  is  made  much  more  natural. 

[14] 


BOOK  II]    THE   SERMON   ON   THE   MOUNT 

will   divide   the   future   from   the   past,   Christian    from 
Jew. 

"He,  therefore,"  continues  Jesus,  "that  shall  break  one 
of  these  least  commandments  and  shall  so  teach  men,  shall 
be  called  the  least  in  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.  But  he  that 
shall  do  and  teach,  he  shall  be  called  great  in  the  Kingdom 
of  Heaven."  Man  regenerated  and  called  to  join  his  life 
more  closely  to  that  of  God,  has  not  the  right  to  decline 
such  an  honour.  At  all  events,  the  more  faithful  he  is  in 
following  the  lofty  way  of  perfection  proposed  to  him, 
the  more  worthy  does  he  prove  himself  of  his  Master  and 
of  the  esteem  of  the  friends  of  God. 

"For  I  tell  you,  unless  your  justice  abound  more  than 
that  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  you  shall  not  enter  into 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven."  The  justice  of  the  Pharisees  is 
wanting  in  internal  truth;  it  is  odiously  false.  These 
hypocritical  formalists  have  killed  conscience  by  exagger- 
ating the  importance  of  legal  observances.  Against  them, 
once  for  all,  the  spirit  must  be  made  to  prevail  over  the 
letter.  Therefore,  Avhat  is  to  be  added  to  the  moral 
theology  of  ancient  Israel  becomes  obligatory  for  all 
those  who  desire  to  be  members  of  the  new  Church.  If 
they  do  not  observe  it,  they  do  not  belong  to  that 
Church.  Let  every  one  open  his  ears  and  strengthen  his 
heart.  Here  follow  the  conditions  of  justice  or  Christian 
holiness. 

"You  have  heard  that  it  was  said  to  them  of  old:  Thou 
shalt  not  kill.  And  whosoever  shall  kill,  shall  be  in  dan- 
ger of  the  judgment.^^  But  I  say  to  you  that  whosoever 
is  angry  with  his  brother,  shall  be  in  danger  of  the  judg- 

^°  This  judgment  is  that  of  the  Ancients  who  sat  at  the  gates  of  each  city 
to  dispense  justice,  even  in  capital  causes,  as  is  remarked  in  Deut.  x^^i, 
2,  5,  8.  It  is  not  known  for  certain  whether  these  judges  numbered  twenty- 
three,  as  some  claim,  or  only  seven,  as  Josephus  (Antiq.,  iv,  8,  14)  seems 
to  say. 

[15] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [pakt  second 

ment.  And  whosoever  shall  say  to  his  brother,  Raca/^ 
shall  be  in  danger  of  the  Council.  And  whosoever  shall 
say,  Thou  fool,  shall  be  in  danger  of  the  fire  of  the  valley 
of  the  sons  of  Hinnom."  ^^ 

Even  though  there  was,  in  reahty,  a  perceptible  grada- 
tion in  the  three  kinds  of  punishment  to  which  Jesus  here 
alluded,^  ^  it  is  not  clear  that  there  is  a  corresponding  grav- 
ity in  the  three  faults  mentioned.  To  say  raca,  or  fool, 
to  one's  fellow,  to  be  enraged  against  him,  do  not  consti- 
tute a  very  evident  difference  of  guilt.  We  must  take  the 
Master's  thought  as  a  whole.  Wishing  to  have  us  under- 
stand how  reprehensible  the  sentiment  of  hatred  is.  He 
gives  to  His  language  a  certain  exaggeration,  which  com- 
mon sense  reduces  to  its  due  proportions.  Evidently  He 
does  not  mean  to  say  that  the  one  who  insults  merits  a  more 
terrible  punishment  than  the  assassin;  the  anger  that  in- 
sults is  not  more  intense  than  that  which  kills.  No,  His 
object  being  to  put  forth  as  important  that  which  Judaism 
regarded  as  unimportant.  He  emphasises  His  thought  and 
says :  "According  to  you,  the  murderer  alone  merits  pun- 

^'  The  word  Raca  is  a  term  of  contempt,  derived  from  the  Hebrew  raqaq,  to 
spit  upon,  and  means  a  despicable  man,  as  St.  Chrysostom  and  Theodoret 
point  out;  or  better  still,  according  to  St.  Jerome,  from  the  Syro-Chaldaic 
reiqah,  to  be  empty,  witfwvi  brains.  Yet  it  is  remarkable  that  in  the  Tal- 
mudic  phrases,  where  this  word  is  found,  it  appears  to  be  rather  an  oath  than 
an  insult.  Thus,  Tanchum,  fol.  18,  col.  7:  "Raca,"  says  a  Jew  to  a  Pagan, 
who  invites  him  to  partake  of  pork,  "de  bestiis  etiam  mundis  apud  vos  non 
comedendum."  And  elsewhere  a  princess  unduly  ill-treated  by  her  husband 
exclaims:  "Raca,  ego  sum  filia  regis." 

^^  The  word  Teepya  is  nothing  else  than  the  Hebrew  name  Ghe-Hinnom., 
or  Ghe-bene  Hinnom,  "the  valley  of  Hinnom,"  or  "the  sons  of  Hinnom," 
given  to  the  valley  which  extends  along  the  southern  side  of  Jerusalem  and 
toward  the  west,  and  in  which  faithless  Israel  had  given  itself  up  to  the 
worship  of  Moloch.  (IV  Kings  xvi,  3.)  On  the  return  from  the  capti\ity, 
this  place  of  hateful  memories  was  looked  upon  with  aversion  and  became  a 
sort  of  dumping-ground,  where  fire  was  kept  to  consume  rubbish.  This 
was  a  figure  of  hell,  which  was  also  called  Gehenna. 

'^  There  were  three  kinds  of  punishments  among  the  Jews,  the  sword, 
stoning  to  death,  and  fire.  The  first  was  applied  by  the  tribunal  of  each 
city,  the  second  by  the  Sanhedrim,  the  third  by  public  indignation. 

[16] 


BooKii]    THE   SERMON   ON  THE   MOUNT 

ishment ;  according  to  Me,  the  man,  too,  who  hates  and  is 
angry,  will  meet  with  a  punishment  more  terrible  than  that 
of  earthly  tribunals  ;  for  he  merits  eternal  fire."  Thus  the 
new  law  regulates  and  embraces  in  its  purview  not  only 
the  acts  of  man,  but  his  thoughts ;  not  the  work  of 
the  hands  alone,  but  the  secret  sentiments  of  the  heart. 
Whether  anger  remains  silent  in  the  depths  of  the  soul,  or 
breaks  forth  upon  our  lips,  Jesus  severely  condemns  it  and 
likens  it  to  homicide ;  both  proceed  from  one  source,  hatred 
of  our  fellow. 

These  sentiments  of  bitterness  toward  our  brothers, 
with  which  Judaism  scarcely  seems  to  have  occupied  itself, 
are  so  blameworthy  before  God  that  by  entertaining  them 
one  becomes  unworthy  of  heaven's  regard.  "If,  there- 
fore," the  Master  goes  on,  "thou  offer  thy  gift  at  the 
altar,  and  there  thou  remember  that  thy  brother  hath 
anything  against  thee,  leave  there  thy  offering  before 
the  altar,  and  go  first  to  be  reconciled  to  thy  brother, 
and  then  coming  thou  shalt  offer  thy  gift."  God  is  hon- 
oured more  by  the  sacrifice  of  our  pride,  of  our  ill-will, 
of  our  hatred,  than  by  that  of  our  victories  or  of  our 
treasures. 

Besides,  it  is  not  by  Him  alone  that  we  are  commanded 
to  make  a  prompt  reconciliation  with  our  offended  brother ; 
our  human  interests,  too,  make  it  our  duty.  It  is  of  far 
greater  advantage  for  us  to  express  our  regrets  and  our 
good  dispositions  towards  him  whom  we  have  wounded  than 
to  await  his  claims  in  justice.  We  shall  gain  nothing  by  a 
trial,  since  we  are  guilty.  We  have  injured  him;  we  are, 
therefore,  his  debtor.  If  we  do  not  make  immediate  repa- 
ration to  him,  the  judge  will  do  so  himself  and  will  throw 
us  into  prison,  which  is  a  figure  of  eternal  damnation. 
"Be  at  agreement  with  thy  adversary  betimes,  whilst  thou 
art  in  the  way  with  him,  lest,  perhaps,  the  adversary  de- 

[17] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

liver  thee  to  the  judge,  and  the  judge  deHver  thee  to  the 
officer,  and  thou  be  cast  into  prison.  Amen,  I  say  to  thee, 
thou  shalt  not  go  out  from  thence  till  thou  repay  the 
last  farthing."  From  the  supernatural  stand-point  upon 
which,  above  all,  Jesus  wishes  to  insist,  the  truth  of  these 
considerations  is  particularly  striking.  The  man  who 
refuses  to  be  reconciled  with  his  brother,  while  both  are  on 
the  road  of  life,  ought  to  be  in  fear  lest  death  should 
cast  him  at  the  feet  of  the  supreme  Judge,  and  oblige 
him  to  expiate  by  pains  long  enduring,  perhaps  eternal, 
the  wrongs  he  could  so  easily  have  righted  during  life. 
This  new  law  is,  indeed,  severe,  but  how  exalted  is  its 
morality ! 

Passing  from  the  fifth  commandment  to  the  sixth,  Jesus 
continues  the  parallel  between  the  legislation  of  yesterday 
and  that  of  to-morrow.  "Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said 
to  them  of  old:  Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery .^^  But 
I  say  to  you,  that  whosoever  shall  look  on  a  woman  to  lust 
after  her,  hath  already  committed  adultery  with  her  in 
his  heart."  For  to  accept  the  evil  suggestion  of  the  flesh, 
to  entertain  it,  to  follow  it  as  far  as  one  can,  without  the 
external  act,  when  this  latter  is  impossible,  is  to  commit 
the  crime  in  the  depth  of  one's  soul.  Before  God  the  evil 
is  already  committed;  it  matters  little  that  it  is  not  so 
before  men.  The  heart,  therefore,  must  not  be  trusted  to 
itself;  its  desires  must  be  closely  watched.  "And  if  thy 
right  eye  scandalise  thee,  pluck  it  out  and  cast  it  from 
thee ;  for  it  is  expedient  for  thee  that  one  of  thy  members 
should  perish  rather  than  thy  whole  body  be  cast  into  hell. 
And  if  thy  right  hand  scandalise  thee,  cut  it  off  and  cast 
it  from  thee;  for  it  is  expedient  for  thee  that  one  of  thy 
members  should  perish  rather  than  that  the  whole  body 

^*Exod.  XX,  14. 
[18] 


BOOK  II]    THE   SERMON   ON   THE   MOUNT 

go  into  hell."  The  remedy  prescribed  is,  therefore,  as 
violent  as  the  evil;  to  break  the  tenderest  bonds,  to  part 
from  that  which  has  become  a  portion  of  one's  self,  to  for- 
bid the  eye  to  look  in  order  to  save  the  heart  from  yield- 
ing, to  cut  off  a  member  to  preserve  the  body,  this  is  the 
duty  of  the  children  of  the  new  kingdom,  the  sole  means 
of  escaping  the  eternal  payment  of  justice. 

"And  it  hath  been  said:  Whosoever  shall  put  away  his 
wife,  let  him  give  her  a  bill  of  divorce.  But  I  say  to  you, 
that  whosoever  shall  put  away  his  wife,  except  for  the 
cause  of  fornication,  maketh  her  to  commit  adultery ;  and 
he  that  shall  marry  her  that  is  put  away  committeth  adul- 
tery." All  the  grounds  for  divorce  recognised  by  Moses, 
which  the  school  of  Hillel  multiplied  at  pleasure,  as  we 
shall  see  later,  are  totally  suppressed  in  the  New  Law. 
And  rightly  so.  Marriage  has  created  indissoluble  bonds 
between  the  man  and  the  woman.  Though  Moses  seemed 
to  have  tolerated  a  relaxation  of  these  ties,  the  evangelical 
law  restores  them  in  all  their  strength.  Except  in  the 
case  of  unfaithfulness,  the  man  has  no  right  to  put  away 
his  wife.  If  he  repudiates  her,  he  is  responsible  for  the 
sins  that  she  may  commit,  whether  by  a  hfe  of  misconduct 
or  by  taking  another  husband,  with  whom  she  would  cer- 
tainly be  guilty  of  adultery.  The  deceived  husband  has 
the  right  to  expel  her  who  has  dishonoured  him  from 
his  marriage  bed,  without  a  care  as  to  what  may  become 
of  her ;  he  cannot  be  responsible  for  misconduct  of  which 
he  himself  has  been  the  first  victim  and  which  has  com- 
promised the  very  essence  of  marriage,  the  union  of  two 
in  one  flesh.  But  may  he  take  another  spouse.''  Of  this 
Jesus  says  nothing  here.  He  will  answer  this  question 
later  on.  Nevertheless,  by  refusing  the  adulteress  the 
right  to  marry  again.  He  wishes  not  only  to  punish  her  for 
her  crime,  but  also  to  inform  her  that  a  bond  exists  even 

[19] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [pakt  second 

after  her  unfaithfulness ;  and  this  bond  is  upon  the  hberty 
of  the  innocent  as  well  as  upon  that  of  the  guilty.^ ^ 

"Again,  ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said  to  them  of  old : 
Thou  shalt  not  forswear  thyself;  but  thou  shalt  perform 
thy  oaths  to  the  Lord.^®  But  I  say  to  you,  not  to  swear 
at  all,  neither  by  heaven,  for  it  is  the  throne  of  God ;  nor 
by  the  earth,  for  it  is  His  footstool ;  nor  by  Jerusalem,  for 
it  is  the  city  of  the  great  king;  neither  shalt  thou  swear 
by  thy  head,  because  thou  canst  not  make  one  hair  white 
or  black ;  but  let  your  speech  be  yea,  yea,  nay,  nay ;  and 
that  which  is  over  and  above  these  is  of  evil." 

Such,  indeed,  is  the  ideal  of  the  new  society  that,  for 
each  of  her  members,  the  deep  sentiment  of  his  union  with 
God  must  be  the  sole  guarantee  of  the  truth  of  what  he 
says.  What  need  to  evoke  the  name  and  the  presence  of 
God  when  one  knows  himself  to  be  perpetually  under  His 
eye  and  in  His  friendship? 

Although,  in  spite  of  the  Saviour's  sublime  teaching,  the 
evil  of  the  world  and  the  insufficiency  of  our  trust  have 
again  authorised  the  use  of  the  oath  in  certain  circum- 
stances when  it  is  well  to  remind  man  of  the  watchful 
severity  of  Providence,  it  is  none  the  less  true  that  the 
Christian  Church  is  the  more  worthy  of  her  Founder  when 
she  proves  the  religious  vitality  of  all  her  children  by 
showing  herself  capable  of  so  sublime  a  counsel.  The  oath 
is  in  itself  a  consequence  of  sin.  It  is  demanded  because 
of  the  inherent  malice  of  our  fallen  nature,  which  makes 
men  distrust  one  another.  And  we  offer  to  take  it  because 
we  are  conscious,  either  of  the  distrust  of  others  or  of 

*'  These  words  of  the  Master  are  improperly  construed  as  a  recognition 
of  the  man's  right  to  take  another  wife  when  he  has  repudiated  the  one  who 
deceived  him.  No  such  meaning  can  be  discovered  in  the  Gospel  text 
when  studied  impartially. 

"  Jesus  has  in  mind  here  several  passages  of  the  law :  Levit.  xix,  12 ; 
Numbers  xxx,  3;  DeiU.  xxiii,  22-24. 

[20] 


BOOK  II]    THE   SERMON   ON   THE   MOUNT 

our  own  weakness.  When  the  Apostle  calls  upon  God 
to  bear  witness  to  the  truth  of  his  words,  when  God  Him- 
self, speaking  to  man,  seems  to  take  solemn  oaths,  it  is 
simply  the  better  to  dispel  all  doubt  in  a  suspicious  and 
deceitful  heart.  Such  precautions  are,  in  themselves, 
superfluous.  That  the  law  of  Christian  simplicity  and 
sincerity  might  be  fully  practicable,  it  were  essential  that 
all  men  should  be  equally  good  and  virtuous,  those  who 
listen  as  well  as  those  who  speak.  This  is  the  ideal  of  social 
life  in  the  Kingdom  of  God ;  but  it  is  doubtful  if  this  ideal 
will  ever  be  realised  upon  earth. 

Continuing  the  exposition  of  His  sublime  teachings, 
Jesus  rises  higher  yet,  perhaps,  in  the  sphere  of  that  per- 
fection wherein  He  desires  to  establish  our  life ;  so  high, 
indeed,  that  one  wonders  if  it  be  possible  to  follow  Him 
there.  Yet  we  must  not  forget  that  a  man  can  be  a  just 
man  without  always  attaining  the  ideal  proposed,  and  that 
we  can  derive  consolation  for  not  being  perfect,  from  the 
knowledge  that  we  are  at  least  virtuous. 

"Ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been  said:  An  eye  for  an 
eye,  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth  ;^^  but  I  say  to  you,  not  to 
resist  evil ;  but  if  one  strike  thee  on  thy  right  cheek,  turn 
to  him  also  the  other,  and  if  a  man  will  contend  with  thee 
in  judgment  and  take  away  thy  coat,  let  go  thy  cloak  also 
unto  him.  And  whosoever  will  force  thee  one  mile,  go 
with  him  other  two ;  give  to  him  that  asketh  of  thee,  and 
from  him  that  would  borrow  of  thee  turn  not  away."  Ac- 
cepted literally,  this  law  of  charity  would  be  hopeless  and 
even  dangerous.     To  practise  it  without  regard  to  circum- 

"  Ezod.  xxi,  24,  and  elsewhere.  Such  had  been  the  wisdom  of  the 
greatest  law-givers  of  antiquity;  and  since  it  regulates  acts  not  of  private, 
but  of  public  justice,  Jesus  no  more  means  to  declare  it  absolutely  wrong 
than,  shortly  before.  He  deemed  the  oath  absolutely  criminal.  He  simply 
proposes  His  ideal  of  charity  to  heroic  souls  who  will  be  brave  enough  to 
realise  it  in  the  various  circumstances  of  ordinary  Ufa. 

[21] 


LIFE   OF  CHRIST  [paet  second 

stances  and  without  discernment  would  be  to  encourage 
evil  to  its  greatest  extent.  By  promulgating  it  in  exag- 
gerated terms  thoroughly  in  accordance  with  Oriental 
tastes,  the  Saviour  wished  only  to  demonstrate  to  us  how 
patient,  how  heroic,  how  superhuman  is  the  kindness,  the 
gentleness,  the  self-denial  that  should  characterise  His 
true  disciples.  Thus  He  Himself  instead  of  turning  the 
left  cheek  to  the  servant  who  had  struck  Him  on  the  right, 
merely  said:  "If  I  have  spoken  evil,  give  testimony  of  the 
evil;  but  if  well,  why  strikest  thou  Me?"  But  into  these 
words  He  put  just  what  He  demanded  by  His  precept: 
mildness,  affability,  resignation,  that  must  give  the  blush 
to  the  wicked  for  their  violence  and  recall  them  to  better 
feelings. 

"Ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been  said :  Thou  shalt  love 
thy  neighbour,  and  hate  thine  enemy."  ^®  The  enemy  was 
he  who  did  not  practise  the  Jewish  religion.-^ ^  "But  I  say 
to  you :  Love  your  enemies,  do  good  to  them  that  hate  you, 
and  pray  for  them  that  persecute  and  calumniate  you ;  that 
ye  may  be  the  children  of  your  Father,  Who  is  in  heaven, 
Who  maketh  His  sun  to  rise  upon  the  good  and  the  bad, 
and  raineth  upon  the  just  and  the  unjust.^^  For  if  ye 
love  them  that  love  you,  what  reward  shall  ye  have?  Do 
not  even  the  publicans  this  ?     And  if  ye  salute  your  breth- 


''  Levit.  xix,  18.  The  Hebrew  word  here  translated  "  neighbour"  seems 
to  mean  in  general  every  man.  The  Septuagint  translates  it  by  tKocrros.  In 
reality,  the  law  did  not  command  men  to  hate  their  enemies,  but  we  may 
say  that  by  its  severe  prescriptions  against  all  who  were  not  children  of 
Israel,  it  prompted  to  that  hatred. 

''  Vide  St.  Luke  x,  27,  etc. ;  Josephus,  Antiq.  Jud.,  xi,  6, 5.  Tacitus,  Annal., 
V,  4,  5,  says:  "Adversus  alios  omnes  hostile  odium."  Citations  from  the 
Talmud  sustain  this  appreciation:  Midr.  Teh.,  fol.  26,  4:  "Noli  gentilibus 
benevolentiam  aut  misericordiam  exhibere."  Lightfoot,  in  Matth.  v,  43, 
and  m  Luc.  ix,  60,  has  collected  a  series  of  topical  texts :  "  Nationes  mundi 
canibus  assimilantur — Populi  terrarum  non  vivunt." 

^'^  This  thought  is  found  in  Seneca  also  {de  Benef.,  iv,  26) :  "  Si  deos  imitaris, 
da  et  ingratis  beneficia,  nam  et  sceleratis  sol  oritur,  et  piratis  patent  maria." 

[22] 


BOOK  II]    THE   SERMON   ON   THE   MOUNT 

ren  only,  what  do  3'e  more  ?  Do  not  also  the  heathens  this  ? 
Be  ye,  therefore,  perfect,  as  also  your  heavenly  Father  is 
perfect."  What  divine  novelty  in  these  teachings !  There 
is  not  a  religious  soul  in  all  these  nineteen  centuries  from 
whom  they  have  not  drawn  a  cry  of  admiration.  How 
great  and  beautiful  human  nature  is  when  it  rises  to  the 
practice  of  such  amazing  perfection !  And  how  true  that 
the  heroes  of  Christian  charity  are  the  living,  earthly  rep- 
resentatives of  the  God  of  goodness!  History  is  there  to 
tell  it,  and  the  veneration  of  the  people  to  prove  it. 

Such,  then,  is  the  foundation  on  which  Christian  justice 
shall  rest.  But  it  can  reach  the  ideal  which  Christ  has 
drawn  only  by  putting  on  the  threefold  character  of  mod- 
esty, sincerity,  and  prudence,  wliich  will  heighten  its  merit 
and  make  it  beloved  of  all. 

"Take  heed,"  says  the  Master,  "that  ye  do  not  your 
justice  before  men,  to  be  seen  by  them;  otherwise  ye  shall 
not  have  a  reward  of  your  Father,  Who  is  in  heaven."  This 
maxim  implies  no  contradiction  of  what  has  been  recom- 
mended above ;  it  does  not  forbid  the  faithful  to  let  their 
light  shine  before  the  world.  For  they  ought  to  do  every- 
thing to  edify  their  neighbour  and  to  increase  God's  glory, 
but  nothing  to  augment  their  own  personal  importance; 
otherwise  they  would  only  waste  their  time,  and,  having 
gained  their  recompense  in  the  praises  of  the  world,  they 
would  have  nothing  to  hope  for  in  requital  from  heaven. 
From  this  principle  the  Saviour  derives  the  following  con- 
clusions :  "Therefore,  when  thou  dost  an  alms-deed,  sound 
not  a  trumpet  before  thee,  as  the  hypocrites  do  in  the  syna- 
gogues and  in  the  streets,  that  they  may  be  honoured  of 
men.  Amen,  I  say  to  you,  they  have  received  their  re- 
ward." The  image  which  Jesus  employs  here  is  an  exact 
portrayal  of  the  vanity  of  the  man  who  gives  alms  osten- 
tatiously.    Before  he  puts  it  in  the  poor  man's  hand,  he 

[23] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [p.^t  second 

makes  it  shine  in  the  eyes  of  all ;  when  he  lets  it  fall  into 
the  collector's  plate,  he  makes  it  resound;  when  he  sends 
it  to  him  who  asks  it,  he  wishes  the  voice  of  the  public  to 
proclaim  his  deed  abroad.  Our  age,  with  its  subscription 
lists,  partly  reproduces  this  ridiculous  perversity. 

"When  thou  dost  alms,  let  not  thy  left  hand  know  what 
thy  right  hand  doth,  that  thy  alms  may  be  in  secret,  and 
thy  Father,  Who  seeth  in  secret,  will  repay  thee."  ^^  The 
just  man  finds  holy  consolation  in  the  knowledge  that 
though  he  must  conceal  from  others  and  from  himself  the 
good  works  he  does,  there  is  one  eye  which  they  cannot 
escape,  the  eye  of  God.  God  reserves  for  Himself  the 
right  of  rewarding  that  which  He  forbids  to  be  made 
manifest  to  others.  Such  a  debtor  abundantly  supplies 
for  all  the  rest. 

"And  when  ye  pray,  ye  shall  not  be  as  the  hypocrites 
that  love  to  stand  and  pray  in  the  synagogues  and  corners 
of  the  streets,  that  they  may  be  seen  of  men :  Amen,  I  say 
to  you,  they  have  received  their  reward."  Not  to  God  do 
they  pretend  to  speak,  but  to  men;  they  do  not  pray  to 
heaven,  but  they  parade  themselves  before  the  world ;  where- 
fore they  have  wasted  their  time. 

"But  thou,  when  thou  shalt  pray,  enter  into  thy  cham- 
ber, and,  having  shut  the  door,  pray  to  thy  Father  in  secret, 
and  thy  Father,  who  seeth  in  secret,  will  repay  thee."  The 
cry  of  the  faithful,  uttered  in  the  recollection  of  the  soul 
before  God  alone,  ascends  to  heaven  the  more  readily  for 
its  freedom  from  thoughts  of  earth,  and  reaches  the 
Father's  heart  the  more  surely  when  no  strange  noise 
lessens  its  eloquent  ardour. 

"And  when  ye  pray,  speak  not  much,  as  the  heathens 

*'  Cicero  (TuscuL,  ii,  26),  had  the  merit  of  saying  something  similar: 
"Mihi  quidem  laudibiliora  videntur  omnia  quae  sine  venditatione  et  sine 
populo  teste  fiimt,  nulliun  theatrmn  conseientia  majus  est." 

[24] 


BOOK  II]     THE   SERMON   ON   THE   MOUNT 

do.^^  For  they  think  that  in  their  much  speaking,  they 
may  be  heard.  Be  ye  not,  therefore,  hke  to  them,  for  your 
Father  knoweth  what  is  needful  for  you  before  ye  ask 
Him."  In  the  behef  of  the  Gentiles  the  gods  were  not  per- 
petually present  among  men,  nor  cognisant  of  their  vari- 
ous needs.  Man  had  to  call  upon  them,  to  inform  them, 
to  propitiate  them  by  means  of  endless  arguments.  The 
only  true  God  is  ever  with  us,  beholds  our  misery  and 
awaits  only  our  hearts'  movement  to  shower  dowTi  upon 
us  His  blessings.  Hence,  with  Him,  long  discourses  are 
needless.  He  requires  but  a  simple  prayer,  the  natural 
unworded  supplication  uttered  by  our  heart.  Prayer  is 
a  thing  of  feeling  rather  than  of  words,  as  Jesus  will  tell 
us  later  on ;  ^^  and  in  this  sense,  we  may  say,  that  often  the 
more  one  talks,  the  less  he  prays. 

"And  when  ye  fast,  be  not  as  the  hypocrites,  sad.  For 
they  disfigure  their  faces,  that  they  may  appear  unto  men 
to  fast.  Amen,  I  say  to  you,  they  have  received  their 
reward."  It  has  always  been  the  custom  in  the  East  never 
to  appear  at  table  without  having  carefully  bathed  and 
without  having  perfumed  the  head.  Whoever  appears  in 
public  with  sad  face,  disordered  hair,  beard  unkempt,  and 
sprinkled  with  ashes,  thus  "disfiguring  his  face,"  as  the 
Gospel  text  has  it,  thereby  makes  manifest  that  he  has 
not  yet  taken  his  repast;  and  if  the  hour  of  day  is  ad- 
vanced, all  conclude  that  he  is  observing  a  rigorous  fast. 
This  external  show  of  austerity  and  of  penitential  life 
always  succeeds  in  arousing  public  admiration.      But  to 

^^In  Terence  (Heatdon.,  v,  1,  6),  a  husband  says  to  his  wife:  "Ohe,  jam 
desine  deos,  uxor,  gratulando  obtundere.  Illos  tuo  ex  ingenio  judicas  ut  nihil 
credas  intelligere,  nisi  idem  dictum  est  centies." 

^^  Although  the  Lord's  Prayer  has  been  inserted  here  (St.  Matt,  vi,  9,),  St. 
Luke  (xi,  1^)  named  the  occasion  of  its  pronouncement  too  positively  for 
us  not  to  follow  his  information.  The  Master,  according  to  him,  was  not 
before  the  multitude,  but  before  a  limited  audience,  and  He  had  just  prayed 
when  the  disciples  asked  of  Him  a  form  of  prayer. 

[25] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

mortify  one's  self  with  this  end  in  view  is  most  fooHsh  and 
detestable  vanity.  After  men  have  praised  and  paid  their 
homage  to  this  extraordinary  asceticism,  the  hypocrite  is 
only  the  more  filled  with  himself,  and  his  whole  reward  lies 
in  this  vainglory  that  he  has  bought  at  the  price  of  his 
fasting.  A  truly  great  soul  could  find  no  nourishment 
in  so  little.  "But  thou,  when  thou  fastest,  anoint  thy 
head,  and  wash  thy  face,  that  thou  appear  not  to  men  to 
fast,  but  to  thy  Father,  Who  is  in  secret ;  and  thy  Father, 
Who  seeth  in  secret,  will  repay  thee." 

From  the  consideration  that  our  good  works  must  be 
discreetly  hidden  even  at  the  risk  of  seeming  less  religious 
than  we  are,  the  Saviour  naturally  -^  passes  on  to  the  ad- 
vice that  we  must  refrain  from  j  udging  our  neighbour ; 
for,  if  our  neighbour,  in  obedience  to  the  Master's  pre- 
cept, conceals  the  state  of  religious  perfection  in  which 
he  lives,  we  are  the  more  frequently  in  danger  of  mis- 
judging him.  Here  begins  the  series  of  lessons  on 
Christian  wisdom,  which  constitutes  the  third  part  of 
the  discourse,  and  is  the  practical  rule  of  life  for  those 
who  seek  to  establish  themselves  firm  and  fast  in  the 
kingdom. 

First  of  all,  to  exceeding  and  great  humility  the  true 
followers  of  Christ  must  unite  a  charity  even  greater. 
"Judge  not,  that  ye  may  not  be  judged,"  ^^  says  Jesus. 
"For  with  what  judgment  ye  judge,  ye  shall  be  judged; 
and  with  what  measure  ye  mete,  it  shall  be  measured  to 
you  again."  There  is  a  great  consolation  for  him  who 
can  say :  I  have  been  indulgent  with  others ;  they  will  be 

_^*The  teachings  that  St.  Matthew  has  put  between  ch.  vi,  19,  and  ch. 
vii,  1,  seem  in  oiu-  opinion  to  be  distributed  better  in  St.  Luke,  and  we  shall 
find  them  again  later  on. 

^^  This  refers  to  private  life  where  charity  should  play  the  leading  part. 
In  public  life,  justice  reserves  the  right  to  punish  officially  all  crimes ;  other- 
wise social  organisation  would  be  impossible. 

[26] 


BOOK  II]     THE   SERMON   ON   THE   MOUNT 

the  same  with  me,  if  not  on  earth,  surely  in  heaven.  There- 
fore, if  instead  of  turning  our  wisdom  to  the  study 
and  criticism  of  our  neighbour's  Hfe,  we  would  carefully 
survey  and  amend  our  own,  we  should  prove  ourselves 
most  wise.  "And  why  seest  thou  the  mote  that  is  in  thy 
brother's  eye,  and  seest  not  the  beam  that  is  in  thy  own 
eye?  Or  how  sayest  thou  to  thy  brother;  Let  me  cast  the 
mote  out  of  thine  eye;  and  behold,  a  beam  is  in  thy  own 
eye?  Thou  hypocrite,  cast  out  first  the  beam  out  of  thy 
own  eye,  and  then  thou  shalt  see  to  cast  out  the  mote  out 
of  thy  brother's  eye."  For  it  is  detestable  hypocrisy  to 
assume  the  appearance  of  inexorable  justice,  of  an  ardent 
zeal  against  sin,  by  pursuing  the  slightest  faults  in  others, 
when  one's  self  is  given  up  to  all  the  vices.  It  ill  becomes 
the  proud  censor  whom  egotism,  avarice,  luxury,  or  anger 
has  blinded,  to  impart  moral  teachings  to  those  who  are 
better  than  he. 

Yet  the  good  and  the  bad  are  not  to  be  treated  indis- 
criminately. To  treat  all  men  with  equal  confidence  would 
not  be  the  part  of  wisdom.  The  Apostle,  in  particular,  be- 
fore he  intrusts  the  truths  of  the  Gospel  to  his  hearers,  must 
know  to  whom  he  speaks.  In  this  sense  he  is  authorised 
to  judge.  From  the  evidence  and  according  to  his  judg- 
ment, he  shall  speak  or  be  silent.  "Give  not  that  which 
is  holy  to  dogs ;  neither  cast  ye  your  pearls  before  swine, 
lest  perhaps  they  trample  them  under  their  feet,  and,  turn- 
ing upon  you,  they  rend  you."  Nothing  is  worse  than  to 
attempt  to  initiate  into  heroic  virtues,  or  to  teach  the 
maxims  of  perfection  to  the  vile  souls  that  are  all  devoted 
to  the  gross  satisfaction  of  the  senses.  They  are  irritated 
by  the  precious  stones  which  they  took  first  for  the  com- 
mon grain  they  feed  on,  and  when  they  see  their  error,  they 
trample  them  beneath  their  feet.  Their  deception  is  trans- 
formed into  fury,  and  they  to  whom  you  sought  to  do  good, 

[27] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

because  they  seemed  well  disposed,  turn  upon  you  and 
bite  you  with  the  pretext  that  you  have  deceived  them. 

The  great  law  of  charity,  which,  excluding  neither  pru- 
dence nor  justice,  inclines  nevertheless  to  inexhaustible  in- 
dulgence, is  to  crown  these  admirable  precepts.  It  is 
embodied  in  this  aphorism :  "All  things,  therefore,  whatso- 
ever ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye  also  to 
them."  This  rule  is  sure  and  perfectly  intelligible  to  all. 
"For  this  is  the  law  and  the  prophets." 

No  doubt  it  is  not  easy  to  break  with  a  past  of  egotism 
and  pride,  to  hurry  on  bravely  to  this  road  of  sacrifice  and 
humility.  To  hate,  to  curse,  to  envy,  to  calumniate,  was 
natural  for  ancient  mankind;  and  the  change  for  renewed 
human  nature  will  cost  dear.  Yet  it  must  be  done.  "En- 
ter ye  in  at  the  narrow  gate,"  Jesus  exclaims,  "for  wide 
is  the  gate  and  broad  is  the  way  that  leadeth  to  destruc- 
tion, and  many  there  are  who  go  in  thereat.  How  narrow 
is  the  gate  and  how  straitened  the  way  that  leadeth  unto 
life;  and  few  there  are  that  find  it."  There  can  be  no 
illusion  for  him  who  desires  to  become  a  disciple  of  Jesus. 
The  road  He  marks  out  is  a  steep,  narrow,  painful  path, 
and  the  gate  of  the  city  where  Christian  life  flourishes  is 
difficult  of  approach.  But  he  who  penetrates  there,  enters 
into  the  kingdom  of  the  higher  life  and  into  the  realms 
of  eternal  happiness. 

If  any  man  teach  another  doctrine  and  promise  other 
things  he  is  an  impostor  and  must  be  distrusted.  "Be- 
ware of  false  prophets,  who  come  to  you  in  the  clothing 
of  sheep,  but  inwardly  they  are  ravening  wolves.  By 
their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them.  Do  men  gather  grapes 
of  thorns,  or  figs  of  thistles.?  Even  so  every  good  tree 
bringeth  forth  good  fruit,  and  an  evil  tree  bringeth  forth 
evil  fruit.  A  good  tree  cannot  bring  forth  evil  fruit,  nor 
can  an  evil  tree  bring  forth  good  fruit."     Doctrines  shape 

[28] 


BOOK  II]     THE   SERMON    ON   THE   MOUNT 

life.  By  multiplying  their  teachings,  the  Pharisees  and 
all  ritualistic  Judaism  produced  nothing  that  attracted. 
We  have  only  to  look  at  their  works ;  they  are  detestable. 
Hence  it  would  be  folly  to  listen  to  them.  We  could  pro- 
duce only  what  they  themselves  produce.  "Every  tree 
that  bringeth  not  forth  good  fruit  shall  be  cut  down  and 
shall  be  cast  into  the  fire."  This  is  the  sanction.  "Where- 
fore by  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them.  Not  every  one 
that  saith  to  Me:  Lord,  Lord,  shall  enter  into  the  King- 
dom of  Heaven;  but  he  that  doth  the  will  of  My  Father, 
Who  is  in  Heaven,  he  shall  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven."  The  new  religion  is  not  simply  one  of  exterior 
forms,  of  invocations  and  of  homage  done  to  its  Founder ; 
even  faith,  if  it  be  alone,  is  insufficient.  Works  are  re- 
quired. To  act  is  as  necessary  as  to  believe,  and  to  enter 
heaven  each  man  must  show  that  he  has  done  the  one  and 
the  other. 

"Every  one,  therefore,"  Jesus  adds,  as  conclusion  to 
His  magnificent  discourse,  "that  heareth  these  My  words, 
and  doth  them,  shall  be  likened  to  a  wise  man  that  built 
his  house  upon  a  rock;  and  the  rain  fell,  and  the  floods 
came,  and  the  winds  blew,  and  they  beat  upon  that  house, 
and  it  fell  not,  for  it  was  founded  on  a  rock."  Works 
strengthen  faith,  and  practice  is  frequently  a  first  means 
of  producing  belief.  Therefore,  he  whose  mind  and  con- 
duct are  in  keeping  with  the  Master's  teachings  may  be 
at  peace.  Thanks  to  his  prudence,  neither  the  trials  of 
life  nor  even  those  of  death  can  overturn  the  solid  edifice 
of  his  justice  and  of  his  piety.  Beyond  the  grave  he 
shall  stand  with  all  his  works,  and  he  shall  be  happy  for 
the  wisdom  he  had  in  knowing  that  nothing  Is  solid  if 
actions  are  not  there  to  sustain  convictions. 

"And  every  one  that  hearetK  these  My  words,  and  doth 
them  not,  shall  be  like  a  foolish  man  that  built  his  house 

[29] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

upon  the  sand.  And  the  rain  fell,  and  the  floods  came, 
and  the  winds  blew,  and  they  beat  upon  that  house ;  and  it 
fell,  and  great  was  the  fall  thereof."  We  frequently  see 
believers  astonish  the  world  by  their  faith ;  they  prophesy, 
and  accomplish  miracles ;  like  an  imposing  edifice,  their 
public  life  commands  the  admiration  of  all;  but  we  know 
not  the  secret  of  their  inmost  life,  which  is  far  from  being 
in  unison  with  their  faith.  The  foundations  which  should 
have  been  of  firm  rock  do  not  exist.  As  long  as  no  crisis 
occurs,  every  one  is  ignorant  of  the  insufficiency  of  the 
work;  but  when  the  decisive  moment  has  come,  the  whole 
tumbles  down,  and  of  the  proud  palace  there  remains 
naught  but  ruins.  Jesus  leaves  His  hearers  while  this 
impression  of  eternal  woe  reserved  for  the  imprudent  is 
still  upon  them.  They  seem  to  hear  the  tumbling  of  this 
edifice  among  the  far-off  echoes  of  eternity. 

The  multitudes  w^ere  filled  with  admiration  for  these 
instructions  uttered  with  an  authority,  a  clearness,  a  lofti- 
ness not  to  be  found  among  the  Jewish  doctors.  It  was 
evident  that  the  new  Master  held  nothing  in  common  with 
them. 


[30] 


CHAPTER    II 

THE   LAW   OF  MERCY  AND   THE   SIN- 
FUL  AVOMAN    IN   THE    HOUSE  OF 
SIMON   THE   PHARISEE 

Magdala  and  Its  Evil  Reputation — ^Where  Simon's 
Hospitality  Fails — The  Sinner  in  the  Midst  op 
THE  Banquet — The  Heroism  of  Her  Repentance — 
Unfavourable  Attitude  of  the  Pharisee — Jesus' 
Question  —  The  Lesson  Addressed  to  Simon  —  A 
First  Grace  Begets  Love  and  Love  Calls  Forth 
Pardon — Peace  of  Soul  and  the  New  Life  Created 
BY  the  Words  of  Jesus.      (St.  Luke  vii,  36^50.) 

Jesus,  desirous  of  returning  to  Capharnaum,  turned 
toward  the  shores  of  the  lake  and  came  to  Magdala,  a 
small  borough  about  three  miles  north  of  Tiberias,  at  the 
entrance  of  the  plain  of  Genesareth.  The  ^Mohammedan 
village  of  El-Megdel  has  retained  with  its  poor  huts  only 
the  name  of  ancient  Magdala  and,  perhaps,  the  remains 
of  the  tower  (Migdol)  from  which  this  name  was  derived. 
Yet  its  site,  at  the  foot  of  a  steep  mountain,  upon  the 
lake-shore  is  very  picturesque ;  and  the  imagination  depicts 
with  ease,  even  amid  the  hedges  of  thorny  bushes,  the 
gigantic  nettles,  the  pools  of  water,  and  the  black  stones 
that  now  cover  the  soil,  the  gracious  spectacle  once  pre- 
sented in  this  favoured  spot  when  countless  brooks  kept 
alive  the  fertile  orchards,  the  flowers  and  fruits  and  the 

[31] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

luxuriant  vegetation,  that  made  the  land  of  Genesareth, 
as  Josephus  says,  a  veritable  earthly  paradise.  Beneath 
a  sky  that  will  bear  comparison  with  that  of  the  tropics, 
amid  a  nature  so  beautiful,  it  is  not  surprising  that  mor- 
als were  very  lax.  The  Rabbis  attribute  the  destruction 
of  Magdala  to  the  misconduct  of  its  inhabitants.^ 

It  was  probably  ^  in  this  town  that  Jesus  was  invited 
to  dinner  by  a  Pharisee  named  Simon.  Whether  this  man 
had  been  cured  of  some  infirmity  by  the  Saviour,  as  might 
be  inferred  from  the  conversation  that  followed,  or  had 
invited  the  Master  to  his  house  through  curiosity  or  vain- 
glory, it  is  not  easy  to  say.     Jesus  accepted  his  invitation. 

His  reception  was  rude  and  scarcely  civil.  It  was  diffi- 
cult for  the  ancient  pride  of  Pharisaism  to  bend  before 
one  who  used  but  little  regard  in  treating  with  a  sect  as 
haughty  as  it  was  powerful.  The  master  of  the  house 
failed  to  give  the  illustrious  guest  he  received  even  the  most 
ordinary  marks  of  respect  and  friendship. 

It  was  customary  when  entering  a  house  as  a  guest, 
first  to  remove  the  shoes,  almost  as  we  remove  our  hats, 
and  to  leave  them  in  the  vestibule.  The  head  of  the  family 
then  kissed  his  guest  upon  the  cheek,  saying  to  him: 
"Peace  be  to  you !"  He  then  escorted  him  to  a  seat,  and 
servants  at  once  came  to  bathe  his  feet.  In  warm  coun- 
tries, where  roads  were  thick  with  dust,  this  bath  was 
most  refreshing.  In  addition  to  this  the  Jews  looked  upon 
it  as  a  rite  of  purification  which  was  almost  indispensable. 

^  Echah  Rabhathi,  fol.  71,  4,  and  Taamit  H zeros.,  fol.  69,  1:  "Quare 
destructa  est  Magdala?     Propter  scortationem." 

^  In  relating  the  story  of  the  repentant  sinner,  St.  Luke  neglects  to  name 
the  town  where  this  touching  scene  was  enacted  and  it  is  solely  because  of 
the  identification  of  Magdalen  as  the  sinful  woman  that  the  name  of  Magdala 
has  been  put  forward.  The  reasons  alleged  to  prove  that  the  town  was 
Naim  or  Capharnaum  are  not  solid.  The  incident  as  found  in  St.  Luke  vii, 
36,  is  altogether  fragmentary,  and  has  no  connection  with  what  precedes  or 
what  follows. 

[32] 


BOOK  II]  SIMON  THE  PHARISEE 

A  special  servant,  or  the  master  of  the  house  himself, 
afterwards  anointed  with  fragrant  oil  the  hair  and  beard 
of  him  to  whom  welcome  was  accorded.  Even  to-day  the 
Orientals  sprinkle  their  guests  with  rose-water.  And, 
finally,  when  the  time  came  for  the  repast,  the  guest 
was  given  an  opportunity  to  wash  his  hands.  As  we  shall 
soon  see,  this  ceremonial  was  neglected  in  great  part  in 
the  reception  given  to  Jesus. 

In  the  meantime  the  company  had  seated  themselves  at 
table.  Following  a  custom  which  has  more  than  once 
afforded  us  interesting  observations  in  our  travels,^  the 
Orientals  freely  open  the  doors  of  the  banquet  hall  to  all 
the  curious  who  desire  to  enjoy  the  sight  of  the  feast. 
These  come  and  go,  and  while  there  may  listen  to  what  is 
said,  or  even  take  part  in  the  conversation.  No  doubt  it 
is  thought  that  the  presence  of  these  outsiders  adds  to  the 
pleasure  and  the  solemnity  of  the  repast. 

In  the  crowd  that  had  followed  Jesus  into  the  Pharisee's 
house  was  a  woman  whose  presence  was  something  of  a 
scandal  in  a  respectable  gathering.  The  unfortunate 
woman,  led  on,  perhaps,  by  some  one  of  those  sudden, 
stupefying  accidents  that  all  at  once  cast  a  pearl  amid  the 
offal,  had  unconsciously  reached  the  very  bottom  of  the  pit. 
A  momentary  weakness,  during  which  woman  is  despoiled  of 
that  protecting  halo  called  honour,  nearly  always  leads  to 
the  greatest  disorders.  Family,  friends,  courage  aban- 
doning her,  misery,  passion,  human  brutality  torturing 
her,  all  contribute  to  beat  down  the  last  ramparts  that 
remain  standing.  The  sinner  here  spoken  of  (who  was, 
very  probably,  as  we  shall  see  later  on,  Mary,  the  sister 
of  Martha  and  of  Lazarus)  belonged  to  an  honourable 
and  wealthy  family.  Nothing  had  checked  her  debauch- 
eries; she  astonished  the  whole  town  by  the  story  of  her 
'  See  Notre  Voyage  aux  Pays  Bibliques,  vol.  ii,  p.  211. 
[33] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [pakt  second 

license.  Prostituting  her  youth  and  her  beauty,  she  had 
become,  in  the  EvangeHst's  words,  a  pubKc  sinner,  a 
harlot.^ 

What  were  the  memories,  what  the  remorse,  what  the 
discourses  that  succeeded  in  moving  this  soul  in  its  aban- 
donment? Had  she  heard  on  the  Master's  lips  one  of  those 
merciful  utterances  capable  of  exalting  our  lives  more 
surely  than  the  threats  of  eternity?  Had  Jesus  surprised 
her  and  reprimanded  her  in  the  very  midst  of  her  follies, 
in  the  filth  of  the  public  square,  when  the  seven  demons, 
the  hideous  symbol  of  all  the  vices,  were  tormenting  her, 
and  had  He  with  a  word  put  an  end  to  their  possession  '^ 
of  her,  by  giving  the  wretched  woman  back  to  herself  and 
to  her  bitter  reflections?  This  latter  is  the  best  explana- 
tion ^  of  what  follows,  and  the  best  means  of  understand- 
ing how,  even  before  she  had  received  forgiveness  for  her 
crimes,  Magdalen  already  owed  to  Jesus  a  great  debt  of 

*  The  qualification  aij.aprct>\6s,  which  signifies  a  sinner  of  any  kind  whatever 
means,  in  the  case  of  a  woman,  a  courtesan  or  an  adulteress,  and  especially 
is  it  so  if  there  be  no  other  designation.  In  reality  a  woman's  great  sin  is 
either  conjugal  faithlessness  or  prostitution.  And  we  need  not  hesitate  to 
believe  that  the  offences  of  this  woman  were  as  numerous  as  they  were 
humiliating,  since  Jesus  deliberately  says  of  her :  avrrjs  at  a/xapriai  ai  noWdi, 
and  Simon  qualifies  her  misconduct  as  extremely  scandalous.  This,  in 
fact,  is  the  meaning  of  the  words  rls  /col  ttototttj  rj  ywi}. 

^St.  Luke  viii,_2. 

*  The  supposition  that  Jesus  had  dehvered  Magdalen  from  seven  demons 
(St.  Liike  viii,  2)  previous  to  the  incident  of  the  feast  related  in  this  chapter, 
logically  follows,  if  we  identify  this  illustrious  friend  of  Jesus  with  the  sinful 
woman.  It  cannot  be  admitted  that  a  demoniac  would  have  been  capable 
of  such  a  demonstration  of  repentance  and  of  love.  It  follows  then  that  her 
conduct  during  the  feast  was  an  act  of  gratitude.  The  guests,  ignorant  of 
her  past,  were  shocked  at  her  boldness  and  at  Jesus'  forbearance.  It  was 
then  that  Jesus,  Whose  habitual  contention  in  the  presence  of  the  Pharisees 
was  that  there  is  no  creature  so  deeply  fallen  that  he  cannot  be  restored  by 
grace  and  be  admitted  into  the  kingdom  of  God,  even  before  the  children  of 
Abraham,  expounds  to  Simon  the  very  appropriate  parable  of  the  two 
debtors.  This  simple  woman  owes  to  Jesus  her  deliverance  from  the  seven 
demons  (500  pence),  the  Pharisee  was  bound  to  Him  by  a  smaller  but 
undenoted  service  (50  pence).  What  a  difference  in  attitude  therefore  on 
the  part  of  both  disciples  toward  the  Master !  The  gratitude  of  Simon  is 
a  small  matter,  the  devotion  of  INIagdalen  reaches  the  extreme  limits  of 

[34] 


BOOK  II]  SIMON  THE  PHARISEE 

gratitude.  It  is  certain  that  a  deep-felt  emotion  had 
stirred  her  whole  being.  It  is  no  rare  thing,  when  virtue 
springs  up  again  in  contrite  hearts,  to  see  them  attain  all 
at  once  the  limits  of  the  most  astounding  heroism.  To 
their  repentance  they  bring  the  same  intensity  of  passion 
they  had  brought  to  their  crimes.  The  most  profound 
humility,  the  most  courageous  love  of  God,  the  most  piti- 
less hatred  of  self  were  all  suddenly  revealed  in  the  poor 
woman's  soul  and  inspired  her  conduct  on  this  occasion. 

Holding  in  her  hands  a  box  of  ointment,  one  of  the 
wonted    accessories    of    a    life    as    lawless    as    hers,    amid 

heroism.  In  a  way,  it  was  well  for  her  to  have  fallen  so  low,  since  now  she 
has  a  chance  to  rise  again  so  high.  For  what  is  the  issue  of  it  all?  The 
grateful  love  that  Magdalen  testifies  for  Jesus  insures  for  her  the  pardon  of 
her  past  sins.  The  wretched  demoniac,  who  was  delivered  in  body  yester- 
day, regains  to-day,  together  with  purification  of  her  soul,  the  liberty  of  the 
children  of  God.  Simon,  who  deems  himself  irreproachable,  remains  just 
where  he  had  been  m  his  pharisaical  righteousness.  For  a  first  favour  the 
one  feels  herself  borne  on  to  immense  gratitude,  the  other  shows  but  httle 
emotion.  The  result  will  be  that  because  of  her  great  love,  much  will  be 
forgiven  to  her,  while  for  his  indifference  nothing  is  said  of  the  other. 

It  is  in  this  presentment  of  the  facts  that  we  must  seek  a  satisfactory  solu- 
tion of  certain  difficulties  found  in  the  Gospel  story.  If  it  is  not  admitted 
that  Jesus  had  been  the  benefactor  of  this  sinner  before  the  feast,  we 
must  logically  conclude  from  the  parable  uttered  by  the  Master  that  Mag- 
dalen loves  becaiise  she  is  pardoned,  and  not,  as  Jesus  clearly  says  later, 
that  she  is  pardoned  because  she  has  loved.  If  the  five  hundred  pence  re- 
mitted represented,  not  the  expulsion  of  the  seven  demons,  but  the  remission 
of  her  sins,  we  must  acknowledge  that  Magdalen's  love  is  the  consequence, 
not  the  cause,  of  her  absolution.  But,  in  that  case,  what  shall  we  say  of  the 
explicit  declaration  on  the  part  of  Jesus:  "Many  sins  are  forgiven  her, 
because  she  hath  loved  much"  ?  The  cause  of  her  pardon  is  clearly  said  to 
be  her  penitent  love ;  her  absolution  is  the  consequence.  For  it  is  impossible 
to  deprive  the  word  '6ri  of  its  sense  of  causality.  The  aorist  i\yairi\ffe, 
besides,  is  there  to  imply  that  the  love  preceded  the  pardon,  as  a  cause  pre- 
cedes the  effect.  There  would,  therefore,  be  a  flagrant  contradiction  between 
Jesus'  parable  and  His  declaration  if  INIagdalen  had  not  been  indebted  to 
the  Master  pre\ious  to  the  feast.  It  disappears  if  she  was  already  bound 
to  Him. 

It  is  to  be  regretted,  no  doubt,  that  St.  Luke  did  not  express  all  that  was 
needed  to  clear  away  this  difficulty.  But  we  have  here  another  instance  of 
the  great  respect  with  which  he  treated  the  fragmentary  narratives  which 
were  at  hand  in  tlie  preparation  of  his  Gospel.  The  identii'cation  of 
Magdalen  with  the  sinful  woman  was  not  in  the  narrative,  and  hn  was  un- 
willing to  insert  it. 

[35] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

the  baleful  smiles  and  humiliating  words  that  greeted 
her  as  she  passed,  she  broke  through  the  crowd  and  reached 
the  banquet-hall.  On  her  brow  the  blush  of  shame  had 
replaced  the  impudent  stare  of  vice,  her  downcast  eye  was 
nothing  bold,  her  gait  was  that  of  a  victim  advancing  to 
the  sacrifice.  But  her  past  had  been  so  degrading  that 
no  one  noticed  her  present  change.  Nothing  is  more  pain- 
ful, to  one  who  has  by  force  of  energy  effected  one's  own 
moral  resurrection,  than  entrance  among  surroundings 
that  are  cold,  sceptical,  and  licentious,  where  no  credit  is 
given  for  victory  in  the  struggle,  but  where,  rather,  un- 
feeling and  inconsiderate  remarks  drive  one  back  again 
into  the  past  from  which  he  has  completely  emerged. 

After  the  first  movement  of  malignant  surprise,  as  they 
beheld  the  woman  approach  Jesus,  the  company  wondered 
what  was  going  to  happen.  They  were  unaware  that  their 
Guest  had  already  performed  a  service  for  her. 

The  ancients,  it  is  well  known,  took  their  meals  reclin- 
ing, resting  upon  the  left  arm,  while  their  unsan- 
dalled  feet  were  concealed  behind  the  triclinium.  It  was 
there,  undetected  by  the  Master's  gaze,  but  beneath  the 
eyes  of  all  the  assembly,  that  Magdalen  fell  upon  her 
knees.  Overwhelmed  with  sorrow,  shame,  and  emotion,  she 
had  not  the  courage  to  utter  a  single  word;  but  her  love, 
her  contrition,  and  her  faith  were  spoken  in  her  every  act. 
Her  eyes,  which  had  once  been  guilty  of  so  many  evil 
glances,  extinguishing  what  was  left  of  their  impure  flame, 
had  become  like  a  twin-fountain  of  tears  religiously  be- 
dewing the  Saviour's  feet ;  her  hair,  which  had  once  been 
the  crown  of  her  wicked  vanity,  and  which  was  even  yet 
redolent  of  luxuriousness,  fell  unkempt,  as  if  to  give  em- 
phasis to  the  public  avowal  of  her  misconduct ;  ^  she  used 

^  The  priest  loosened  the  Jewess'  hair  before  making  her  drink  the  bitter 
water  when  she  had  been  guilty  of  unchaslity.    In  a  country  whose  women 

[36] 


BOOK  11]  SIMON  THE  PHARISEE 

it  to  wipe  the  feet  which  she  bathed  with  her  tears.  Her 
guilty  hps  were  thus  purified  by  contact  with  virginal 
flesh,  and  her  heart  was  breaking  in  sobs  of  repentance 
and  of  love  for  God.  Then  she  opened  the  box  of  oint- 
ment, fit  symbol  of  her  own  soul,  which  with  all  its  newly 
acquired  virtues  she  was  desirous  of  pouring  forth  with- 
out reserve  before  Jesus,  and  she  began  to  anoint  His 
feet,  clasping  them  the  while  most  tenderly. 

Such  a  manifestation  of  repentance  must  have  been  all 
the  more  astonishing  to  the  assembly,  since  He  to  Whom 
it  was  made  seemed  absolutely  insensible  to  it.  In  the 
proud,  hard  soul  of  the  Pharisee  it  aroused  only  this  un- 
kind reflection:  "If  this  man  were  a  prophet,  he  would 
surely  know  who  and  what  manner  of  woman  this  is  that 
toucheth  him,  that  she  is  a  sinner."  The  touch  of  a  pub- 
lic sinner,  according  to  the  teaching  of  the  Pharisees,  was 
as  foul  as  that  of  the  leper.^  Such  are  the  sad  conse- 
quences of  formalism !  The  only  thought  that  strikes 
Simon  before  a  spectacle  so  sublime  is  that  the  Master  is 
in  danger  of  contracting  a  legal  impurity !  A  cutting 
criticism,  at  once  of  Jesus  and  of  the  heroic  penitent, 
is  all  that  he  can  find  in  his  soul.  As  he  imagines  that 
the  Master  knows  not  what  sort  of  creature  the  woman 
is,  he  must  be  taught  that  he  does  not  know  what 
manner  of  man  he  is  himself.  "Simon,"  said  the  Saviour, 
breaking  the  silence  at  last,  "I  have  somewhat  to  say  to 
thee."  "Master,  say  it,"  responded  the  Pharisee.  And 
after  these  phrases  of  mere  civility,  Jesus  began.      He 

always  kept  the  head  covered,  unkempt  hair  was  a  sign  of  great  humiliation 
or  of  profound  grief.  Cf.  in  the  Talmud,  Sot,  f.  5,  1 ;  III  Mace,  i,  9.  Pro- 
fane history  relates,  also,  of  pagan  women,  that  in  times  of  public  calamity 
they  went  to  wash  with  their  tears  and  to  wipe  with  their  hair  the  threshold 
of  the  temples,  and  that  the  master  at  times  wiped  his  hands  in  the  hair  of 
the  slaves  who  served  him. 

^"Quanto  spatio  a  meretrice  recedendum  est?  R.  Chasda  respondet: 
Ad  quatuor  cubitos."    Schoettgen,  Hor.  Hebr.,  i,  p.  348. 

[37] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [pakt  second 

desired  to  explain  this  woman's  attitude  by  recalling  that 
she  was  His  debtor.  For  some  reason,  which  we  are  not 
familiar  with,  Simon,  also,  was  under  obHgations  to  Jesus ; 
the  indebtedness,  however,  was  less  than  that  of  Magdalen. 
Hence  the  natural  sense  of  the  parable  that  follows.  "A 
certain  creditor  had  two  debtors ;  the  one  owed  five  hun- 
dred pence,  the  other  fifty.  And  whereas  they  had  not 
wherewith  to  pay,  he  forgave  them  both.  Which,  there- 
fore, of  the  twain  loveth  him  most.?"  Simon,  answering, 
said:  "I  suppose  he  to  whom  he  forgave  most."  And  He 
said  to  him:  "Thou  hast  judged  rightly."^  From  that 
moment  the  outburst  of  feeling  on  the  part  of  the  sinful 
woman  is  understood.  It  must  be  looked  upon  as  the 
expression  of  great  gratitude,  which,  upheld  by  her  faith,^*^ 
now  draws  upon  her  another  favour  from  Jesus. 

For,  as  He  turned  toward  Magdalen,  pointing  to  her,  at 
the  same  time,  with  a  gesture  of  sympathy,  He  observed: 
"Dost  thou  see  this  woman.''  I  entered  into  thy  house, 
thou  gavest  INIe  no  water  for  My  feet ;  but  she  with  tears 
hath  washed  My  feet,  and  with  her  hair  hath  wiped  them. 
Thou  gavest  Me  no  kiss,  but  she,  since  she  came  in,  hath 
not  ceased  to  kiss  My  feet.  My  head  with  oil  thou  didst 
not  anoint,  but  she  with  ointment  hath  anointed  My  feet. 
Wherefore  I  say  to  thee:  Many  sins  are  forgiven  her,  be- 
cause she  hath  loved  much."  There  is  the  crowning  grace 
of  divine  mercy.  And,  turning  again  to  Simon,  Jesus 
adds :  "But  to  whom  less  is  forgiven,  he  loveth  less."  So 
it  happens  that  those  who  have  fallen  low,  by  the  very  fact 
that  they  rise  again  through  co-operation  with  a  first  grace, 
may  in  the  outburst  of  their  gratitude  rise  to  sublime 
heights ;  while  cold  natures,  because  they  are  all  but  blame- 

'  This  word  of  the  Master,  opdus  eKpivas,  recalls  the  irdvv  opdws  of  the 
Socratic  Dialogues. 

^°  From  verse  50,  it  is  evident  that  for  Magdalen  faith  was  the  first  element 
of  salvation;  love  was  the  second. 

[38] 


BooKii]  SIMON  THE  PHARISEE 

less,  will  remain  fixed  in  their  condition  of  half-virtue. 
The  lesson  goes  straight  to  the  conscience  of  all  those  who 
look  down  upon  sinners,  and  suspect  not  that  by  a  move- 
ment of  the  soul  these  can  rise  on  the  wings  of  repentant 
love  not  merely  to  justice,  but  even  to  a  perfection  which 
they  themselves  may  never  attain.  The  mainspring  of 
the  moral  and  religious  life  being  in  the  heart,  he  will  ap- 
proach the  nearest  to  God  who  can  love  the  most.  The 
point  from  which  one  starts  matters  little;  the  point 
reached  is  the  thing  to  consider. 

To  Simon  nothing  is  said  of  his  own  soul  or  of  his  need 
of  spiritual  regeneration.  To  the  sinful  woman  Jesus  ad- 
dresses this  consoling  remark:  "Thy  sins  are  forgiven 
thee."  She,  therefore,  is  done  with  sin ;  the  divine  mercy 
with  a  word  has  effaced  the  whole  shameful  past  that 
weighed  down  upon  her  head.  Whom  God  pardons,  shall 
men  still  blame .^  He  it  is  Who  had  borne  the  offence; 
He  it  is  Who,  forgetting  that  same,  enjoins  upon  all  to 
think  of  it  no  more. 

In  this  identification  of  Jesus  with  God  Who  forgives, 
there  was  an  evident  proof  that  personally  He  deemed 
Himself  God  like  His  Father,  and  those  present,  once 
again,  were  shocked.  But  He,  unmoved,  as  if  He  heard 
not  their  murmurings,  simply  said  to  the  humbled  woman : 
"Thy  faith  hath  saved  thee ;  go  in  peace."  ■'■■'• 

^'  To  insist  on  identifying  this  account  with  St.  Matth.  xxvi,  6;  St.  Mark 
xiv,  3 ;  St.  John  xii,  4,  is  to  lose  sight  of  those  differences  of  place,  time,  and 
persons  which  forbid  us  to  consider  as  one  two  distinct  anointings.  The 
present  one,  it  is  true,  is  given  by  St.  Luke  alone,  while  he,  in  turn,  passes 
over  those  of  the  other  three.  In  St.  Luke's  account  we  are  in  Galilee, 
almost  at  the  beginning  of  the  Messianic  ministry,  and  the  woman  in  the 
scene  is  a  stranger  to  the  house — Simon  supposes  that  she  is  unknown  to 
Jesus — of  unsavoury  reputation  in  the  town,  inspiring  the  guests  with  scorn. 
Later  we  shall  be  at  Bethany  in  Judea  at  the  gates  of  Jerusalem,  within 
six  days  of  the  fatal  Passover,  and  the  anointing  will  be  done  in  quite  a 
different  manner,  by  a  person  whom  Jesus  knew  because  He  had  received 
hospitality  at  her  house,  and  who,  besides,  appeared  to  be  at  the  banquet 

[39] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

She  Is  no  longer  the  lost  woman.  Because  she  has 
believed,  the  Good  Shepherd  has  taken  her  to  Himself, 
has  removed  her  outcast  estate,  has  clothed  her  with  new 
womanhood.  On  the  firm  ground  of  righteousness,  where 
He  has  just  established  her,  there  is  no  more  remorse  for 
her,  no  more  moral  suffering,  but  the  peace  that  comes  of 
obedience  and  the  joy  of  union  with  God.  ]\Iagdalen  hav- 
ing received  the  peace  of  the  Lord,  feels  already  spring- 
ing in  her  heart  a  new  life  and  a  savour  of  unexpected 
chastity.  Her  happiness  radiates  from  out  her  tears. 
"Go,"  the  IMaster  says ;  her  love  makes  reply :  "I  will  abide 
with  Him  Who  hath  given  me  life." 

Magdalen,  in  truth,  never  after  left  Jesus'  side. 
Through  her  sorrow  and  her  virtues  she  became  the  blessed 
and  saintly  friend  of  her  Saviour. 

as  if  in  her  own  home  with  the  members  of  her  family.  Finally  and  most 
important  of  all,  the  results  of  the  two  anointings  are  very  dissimilar.  In 
the  first,  the  Master  grants  a  solemn  pardon  to  a  bravely  repentant  sinner. 
lu  the  second,  He  praises  a  friend,  and  announces  His  own  approaching  death. 


[40] 


CHAPTER    in 

CONTROVERSY   WITH   THE 
PHARISEES 

The  Pharisees  Precede  Jesus  to  Capharnaum  to 
Calumniate  Him — He  Is  in  League  with  Beelzebub 
—  His  Crushing  Replies  —  The  Defeat  of  the 
Strong  Man  —  His  Terrible  Revenge  —  The  Sin 
against  the  Holy  Ghost — Enthusiasm  of  the  Mul- 
titude— Asking  for  a  Sign  from  Heaven — The 
Sign  of  Jonas — In  the  Judgment,  the  Queen  of 
Saba  and  the  Ninevites  Will  Confound  the  Chil- 
dren OF  Israel  —  The  Eye  of  the  Soul  —  Faith 
Creates  Kinship  with  Jesus.  (St.  Mark  iii,  19-35; 
St.  Matthew  xii,  22-50;  St.  Luke  xi,  17-36.) 

From  this  sympathetic  mercy  which  Jesus  has  for  fallen 
but  repentant  souls,  compared  with  His  severe  attitude 
toward  pharisaical  pride,  one  could  easily  conclude  that 
His  preference  was  for  the  unfortunate  and  the  humble. 
He  found  in  them  the  first  element  of  moral  resurrection : 
contempt  of  self  and  courage  for  the  most  difficult  sacri- 
fices. It  is  all  that  His  grace  demanded  for  the  super- 
natural rebirth  of  life. 

But  if  to  consort  with  sinners  was  a  crime,  to  prefer 
these  sinners  to  the  Pharisees  must  have  seemed  an  abom- 
ination.    They  were  not  slow  to  make  Him  feel  it  cruelly. 

[41] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

For  from  that  moment  the  opposition  of  the  Pharisees  in 
Galilee  became  particularly  vigorous  and  daring.  The 
sermon  on  the  Mount  had  produced  upon  the  representa- 
tives of  the  old  formalism  the  eifect  of  a  declaration  of 
principles  absolutely  subversive  and  revolutionary.  The 
welcome  accorded  to  sinners  now  filled  the  measure  of  His 
opposition,  and  it  was  decided  that  no  further  caution  was 
required. 

Thus,  when  the  Master,  followed  by  His  disciples,  made 
His  entrance  into  Capharnaum,  He  found  that  His  ad- 
versaries had  preceded  Him  to  that  place  in  order  to  cir- 
cumvent Him  by  their  calumnious  accusations.  To  their 
mind.  His  works  were  performed  through  the  help  of  the 
devil.  No  attack  could  be  more  brutal  or  more  unskilful. 
It  did  not  check  the  people,  at  the  first  report  of  His 
arrival,  from  hurrying  in  crowds  to  the  house  where  He 
had  stopped.^  This  was  probably  Peter's  house,  a  small 
dwelling  in  which  we  have  already  seen  a  tumultuous  gath- 
ering. The  welcome,  according  to  St.  Mark,  was  so  en- 
thusiastic that  neither  Jesus  nor  His  disciples  had  time 
to  eat  even  a  morsel  of  bread.  They  had  brought  Him 
one  possessed,  who  was  both  blind  and  dumb:  the  Master 
restored  to  him  both  sight  and  speech.  The  multitude, 
happy  at  seeing  the  young  Prophet  give  so  crushing  a 
retort  to  the  calumnies  of  His  adversaries,  were  in  a  state 
of  moral  exaltation,  of  joy,  of  wonderment,  which  seemed 
to  drive  them  beyond  all  self-control,  and  they  cried  out: 
"Is  not  this  the  Son  of  David.?" 

To  this  loud  acclaim,  the  jealous  fury  of  the  Scribes 
and  Pharisees  made  answer:  "This  man  casteth  not  out 

'  St.  Mark  iii,  20,  in  saying  that  the  crowd  came  again,  ird\iv,  to  the 
house,  seems  to  suppose  that  it  is  the  same  place  where  the  paralytic  had 
been  cured  (ii,  1,2),  that  is,  the  house  in  which  Jesus  lodged  at  Capharnaum, 
oIkos  or  oIkIu,  without  the  article,  viz.,  Peter's  house,  where  He  had  already 
worked  so  many  prodigies  (i,  29-34). 

[42] 


BOOK  II]  PHARISEES 

devils  but  by  Beelzebub,  the  prince  of  devils."  ^  No  sup- 
position could  be  less  rational ;  but  who  is  ignorant  of  the 
blind  credulity  of  a  mob?  The  most  extravagant  contra- 
dictions, uttered  with  assurance,  are  frequently  the  very 
ones  that  produce  the  liveliest  impression.  Provided  one 
knows  how  to  shout  loud  enough,  he  can  gain  acceptance 
for  them.  Jesus  permitted  His  enemies  to  go  no  farther. 
Checking  them  with  the  strength  of  simple  common-sense, 
He  asked  them:  "How  can  Satan  cast  out  Satan?  And 
if  a  kingdom  be  divided  against  itself,  that  kingdom  can- 
not stand.  And  if  a  house  be  divided  against  itself,  that 
house  cannot  stand.  And  if  Satan  be  risen  up  against 
himself,  he  is  divided  and  cannot  stand,  but  hath  an  end." 
This  is  simple  reasoning;  it  crushes  by  its  truth  and  is 
absolutely  irrefutable.  A  self-destroying  Satan  is  an 
absurdity. 

Moreover,  if  this  argument  is  not  enough.  He  has  an- 
other, that  goes  farther  home  because  it  is  personal :  "Now 
if  I  by  Beelzebub  cast  out  devils,  by  whom  do  your  chil- 
dren ^   cast   them   out  ?      Therefore,  they   shall  be  your 

^  Interpreters  are  divided  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  name  here  given  to 
the  prince  of  the  demons.  St.  Jerome,  who  gives  Beelzebub,  says  that  this 
name,  formerly  given  to  the  god  of  the  Accaronites  {IV  Kings  i,  2),  signifies 
the  god  of  flies,  either  because  the  Accaronites  beUeved  he  had  the  power  of 
delivering  them  from  the  flies  that  devastated  the  country  (Pliny,  Hist.  Xat., 
iv,  9),  or  because  the  Jews  thus  maliciously  compared  their  neighbours'  god, 
the  god  of  flies,  with  their  own  God,  Who  was  the  God  of  gods.  See,  also, 
Lenormant,  La  Divination,  p.  95,  the  Babylonians'  behef  in  the  di\n'ning 
virtue  of  flies.  But  the  most  common  reading  was  Beelzehovl,  which  signifies 
god  of^  offal.  For  the  Jews  qualified  idolatry  as  filth,  ofi'al,  etc.,  and  for  the 
Rabbis  to  take  part  in  idolatrous  worship  was  extendere  manus  in  stercorario. 
Satan  was  the  king  of  idolatry  (Lightfoot,  Hor.  Hehr.,  in  Matth.  xii,  24). 
Some  exegetes  prefer  to  see  in  Beelzehoid  {Baal  in  Chaldaic,  Beet,  by  contrac- 
tion Bel,  the  Lord,  and  Zehovl,  of  the  dwelling)  the  name  given  by  the  Phoe- 
nicians to  their  sim-god,  master  of  the  heavenly  spheres.  Cf.  Movers, 
Phonizier,  i,  p.  260. 

^  Before  the  time  of  Jesus  and  without  reference  to  Him,  Judaism  had 
exorcists  who  pretended  to  cast  out  evil  spirits  by  certain  rather  fantastic 
rites.  {St.  Luke  ix,  49;  Acts  xix,  13;  Antiq.,  viii,  2,  5,  and  vii,  6,  3.)  We 
are  free  to  doubt  the  reahty  of  this  power.     What  Josephus  tells  of  the 

[43] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

judges."  For  it  was,  indeed,  only  too  palpably  the  out- 
come of  partiality  to  attribute,  without  any  motive,  the 
latter's  works  to  God  and  the  works  of  Jesus  to  the  demon. 
"But  if  I,"  continues  the  Saviour,  "by  the  Spirit  of  God 
cast  out  devils,  then  is  the  Kingdom  of  God  come  upon 
you.  Or  how  can  any  one  enter  into  the  house  of  the 
strong  and  rifle  his  goods,  unless  he  first  bind  the  strong? 
And  then  he  will  rifle  his  house.  When  a  strong  man 
armed  keepeth  his  court,  those  things  are  in  peace  which 
he  possesseth.  But  if  a  stronger  than  he  come  upon  him 
and  overcome  him,  he  will  take  away  all  his  armour  wherein 
he  trusted,  and  will  distribute  his  spoils."  Such  has  been 
the  lot  of  Satan.  Having  attained  the  mastery  of  the 
world  at  the  very  beginning,  he  reigned  over  it  as  over  his 
own  house ;  mankind  had  erected  altars  and  had  built  tem- 
ples to  him.  In  succession,  material  creation,  man's  body, 
and  finally  man's  soul  had  become  his  property.  Every- 
thing underwent  not  only  his  moral  influence  in  the  habit 
of  evil,  but  even  his  physical  violent  action,  in  obsession  and 
possession.  But  now  a  Stronger  than  he  is  come.  Who  is 
the  Son  of  God.  He  begins  by  vanquishing  Satan  and 
binding  him,  and,  then  advancing  into  what  had  become  the 
house  of  the  devil,  He  seizes  upon  all  that  is  there,  and 
that  had  formerly  been  His  own  legitimate  property.  He 
takes  it,  and  the  vanquished  cannot  prevent  Him,  for  the 
Kingdom  of  God  has  begun.  Such,  figuratively,  is  the 
history  of  the  Redemption,  of  the  aggressive  turning  of 
good  against  evil,  of  God  against  the  demon,  which  they 
behold  and  at  which  they  are  scandalised. 

magician  Eleazar  looks  more  like  jugglery  than  like  genuine  exorcism. 
The  Talmud,  Taneh.,  fol.  70,  I,  speaks  of  exorcists  who,  invoking  the  names 
of  David  and  Solomon,  enveloped  the  sick  with  smoke  by  burning  certain 
roots,  and  thus  drove  out  evil  spirits.  Jesus,  citing  the  example  of  the 
Jewish  Rabbis,  by  no  means  intends  to  compare  their  works  with  His  own. 
He  argues  not  from  what  these  magicians  do,  but  from  what  the  Pharisees 
think  they  can  do. 

[44] 


BOOK  II]  PHARISEES 

After  this  argumentation,  which  was  absolutely  con- 
clusive against  the  calumnies  of  His  adversaries,  Jesus 
turned  to  those  of  the  multitude  who,  having  suddenly 
grown  chill  in  His  regard,  held  a  reserved  and  almost  in- 
different attitude,  and  exclaimed :  "He  that  is  not  with  Me 
is  against  Me ;  and  he  that  gathereth  not  with  Me  scatter- 
eth."  Once  having  known  the  Saviour,  it  is  no  longer 
possible  to  be  indifferent  toward  Him.  Not  to  be  His 
friend  is  to  declare  one's  self  His  enemy ;  not  to  make  with 
Him  the  conquest  of  eternal  life  is  to  perish  in  misery. 
Such  will  be  the  misfortune  of  those  whom  grace  has  once 
enlightened,  and  whom  doubt  has  turned  cold  again. 
Satan  has  formidable  attacks  yet  to  make.  He  bides  his 
time;  it  is  when  the  heart  is  troubled,  or  when  the  mind 
is  groping  in  darkness,  that  he  will  seize  the  favourable 
chance,  and  take  again  with  interest  that  which  he  had 
lost.  "When  the  unclean  spirit  is  gone  out  of  a  man,  he 
walketh  through  places  without  water  "*  seeking  rest ;  and, 
not  finding,  he  saith:  I  will  return  into  my  house  whence 
I  came  out.  And  when  he  is  come,  he  findeth  it  swept  and 
garnished.  Then  he  goeth  and  taketh  with  him  seven 
other  spirits  more  wicked  than  himself,  and,  entering  in, 
they  dwell  there;  and  the  last  state  of  that  man  becomes 
worse  than  the  first."  Thus  all  that  God  had  accom- 
plished by  way  of  cleansing  a  soul  of  its  past  and  of  adorn- 
ing it  with  new  virtues  and  serious  habits,  is  of  no  avail. 
For  having  remained  a  moment  vacant — that  is,  without 
Jesus  Christ,  Whom  doubt  has  caused  to  flee — Satan  has 
entered  in  once  more  in  triumph.  His  victory  will  proba- 
bly be  final.  So  great  is  the  crime  of  those  who,  by  their 
daring  denials,  disturb  the  faith  of  believers  and  lead  them 

*  The  common  opinion  was  that  the  desert  was  the  ordinary  dwelling-place 
of  demons.  (Job  xxx,  3;  Bar.  iv,  35;  Apoc.  xviii,  2,  etc.)  Exiled  from 
eternal  happiness  in  the  invisible  world,  it  was  supposed  that  they  must  like- 
wise be  banished  from  the  joys  of  creation  in  the  visible  world. 

[45] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

on  to  ruin.  "I  say  to  you,"  says  Jesus,  "every  sin  and 
every  blasphemy  shall  be  forgiven  men,  but  the  blasphemy 
of  the  Spirit  shall  not  be  forgiven."  The  Holy  Ghost 
completes  in  us  the  full  and  perfect  manifestation  of  divine 
truth.  He  is  the  light,  the  evidence  that  makes  God  visi- 
ble to  the  human  conscience.  To  rebel  against  this  light, 
to  deny  this  evidence,  is  moral  suicide  for  man.  By  this 
inexcusable  act  of  malice  we  deaden  all  religious  feeling 
in  our  hearts,  and  deliver  ourselves  to  eternal  blindness. 
"Whosoever  shall  speak  a  word  against  the  Son  of  Man, 
it  shall  be  forgiven  him;  but  he  that  shall  speak  against 
the  Holy  Ghost,  it  shall  not  be  forgiven  him  neither  in 
this  world  nor  in  the  world  to  come." 

In  doubting  the  reality  of  the  divine  nature  of  Jesus 
or  of  His  mission,  man  may  be  misled  without  any  obsti- 
nate or  hateful  malice,  by  a  mere  aberration  of  mind  or 
by  the  influence  of  certain  prejudices  that  keep  him  from 
seeing  the  light.  He  is  certainly  culpable,  but  his  fault 
is  not  too  great  to  be  forgiven.  He  has  not  deliberately 
intercepted  the  rays  of  divine  light  by  a  criminal  and  cold 
calculation.  At  the  appointed  time,  when  his  heart  is 
purer  and  his  mind  less  troubled,  heavenly  light  may  illu- 
mine his  soul.  All  is  not  lost.  The  wicked  man,  on  the 
contrary,  who,  though  he  sees  clearly  and  without  doubt 
the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  has  even  then  through  hatred 
pronounced  it  to  be  the  work  of  Satan,  is  unworthy  of 
the  light  of  heavenly  signs.  He  stubbornly  prefers  night, 
falsehood,  evil ;  he  shall  have  them  forever.  God  pardons 
weakness  of  the  heart,  illusions  of  the  mind,  even  the  wan- 
derings due  to  pride  in  those  who  do  not  coase  to  seek  a 
better  state ;  but  pure  malice  of  the  soul  He  never  for- 
gives, because  it  removes  from  the  soul  all  possibility  of 
doing  anything  to  deserve  forgiveness.  "Either  make  the 
tree  good  and  its  fruit  good,  or  make  the  tree  evil  and  its 

[46] 


BOOK  II]  PHARISEES 

fruit  evil.  For  by  the  fruit  the  tree  is  knoAvn."  If  the 
casting  out  of  demons,  the  healing  of  the  sick,  the  per- 
formance of  miracles  are  good  works,  it  must  be  admitted 
that  the  agent  of  these  good  works  is  good  himself,  and 
that  he  cannot  be  confused  with  Satan,  the  horrible  per- 
sonification of  evil.  Or,  if  one  is  absolutely  desirous  of 
regarding  Satan  as  the  cause  of  all  these  wonders,  he  must 
conclude  that  the  wonders  themselves  are  evil.  To  say 
that  the  tree  can  be  good  and  its  fruit  evil,  or  that  the 
fruit  can  be  good  and  the  tree  evil,  is  to  deny  evidence, 
it  is  blasphemy,  and  inexcusable  sin.  That  is  the  crime  of 
Jesus'  calumniators. 

"Ye  offspring  of  vipers,  how  can  ye,  being  evil,  speak 
good  things.'"'  cries  the  indignant  Master.  "For  out  of 
the  abundance  of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh.  A  good 
man  out  of  a  good  treasure  bringeth  forth  good  things, 
and  an  evil  man  out  of  an  evil  treasure  bringeth  forth  evil 
things.  But  I  say  unto  you,  that  every  idle  word  that 
men  shall  speak,  they  shall  give  account  thereof  in  the 
day  of  judgment.  For  by  thy  words  thou  shalt  be  justi- 
fied and  by  thy  words  thou  shalt  be  condemned."  The 
energy  with  which  Jesus  hurled  all  this  in  the  face  of  the 
Pharisees  amazed  all  present.  They  were  not  aware  that 
their  gentle  Master  was  capable  of  such  outbursts  of 
voice,  such  power  of  long-restrained  indignation ;  and  the 
Pharisees,  in  amazement,  their  masks  torn  from  them  by 
His  burning  words,  could  only  say :  "He  is  become  mad."  ^ 
At  this  the  multitude  hastened  to  Him  in  even  greater  num- 
bers, and  Jesus  took  the  occasion  to  accentuate  His  tri- 
umph by  continuing  to  humiliate  His  enemies  with  His 
overwhelming  retorts.     His  success  was  such  that  the  peo- 

^  The  "  multitude  "  is  undoubtedly  the  subject  of  f\eyov  and  "  Jesus  "  the 
subject  of  ^leVrrj.  This  latter  verb  signifies  a  moral  exaltation  which 
seems  to  deprive  man  of  self-control  and  to  render  him  insane. 

[47] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

pie  no  longer  withheld  their  admiration;  and  a  certain 
woman,  speaking  aloud  for  all,  exclaimed:  "Blessed  is  the 
womb  that  bore  thee,  and  the  paps  that  gave  thee  suck !" 
Jesus'  reply  was,  "Yea,  rather,  blessed  are  they  who  hear 
the  word  of  God,  and  keep  it."  The  Pharisees,  in  order 
to  regain  the  ground  they  had  lost  and  to  check  the  ap- 
plause of  the  multitude,  now  gave  utterance  to  the  follow- 
ing challenge:  "Master,  we  would  see  a  sign  from  thee." 
His  miracles  done  on  earth  appear  to  them  to  be  open  to 
suspicion.  They  judge  that  they  may  be  the  work  of 
magic,  or  the  result  of  some  diabolical  intervention.  Let 
them  be  seen  in  the  heavens,  and  they  will  agree  that  they 
are  conclusive,  for  then  they  will  be  from  on  high,  not  from 
below.  Then  will  they  truly  be  heavenly  signs,  and  no 
longer  to  be  contested.  "An  evil  and  adulterous  genera- 
tion," answered  Jesus,  "seeketh  a  sign,  ^nd  a  sign  shall 
not  be  given  it,  but  the  sign  of  Jonas  the  prophet.  For 
as  Jonas  was  in  the  whale's  belly  three  days  and  three 
nights,  so  shall  the  Son  of  Man  be  in  the  heart  of  the 
earth  three  days  and  three  nights."  ®  Such  was  His  reply 
to  the  Pharisees.  The  true  sign  of  Jonas  to  the  Ninevites 
was  his  preaching:  "Yet  forty  days  and  Nineveh  shall 
be  destroyed."  The  sign  that  Jesus  gives  to  Israel  is 
the  announcement  of  His  approaching  destruction.  The 
prophet's  menace  suffices  for  the  Ninevites.  That  of  Jesus 
means  nothing  to  the  Jews.  He  will,  therefore,  give  them 
one  more  sign  also  plainly  analogous  to  that  of  Jonas, 
more  conclusive  than  any,  but  which,  however,  shall  leave 
the  Jewish  people  still  obstinate  in  their  unbelief.     Not  on 

'  As  a  matter  of  fact  Our  Lord  did  not  pass  three  days  and  three  nights  in 
the  heart  of  the  earth.  He  was  among  the  dead  only  one  day  and  two  nights. 
Since  in  reahty  Jesus'  stay  in  the  tomb  began  the  evening  before  the  Sabbath 
and  ended  the  morning  after,  the  Jews,  following  their  custom,  rightfully 
expressed  this  space  of  time  in  round  numbers.  See  I  Kings  xxx,  12; 
II  Paralip.  x,  5 ;  compare  with  xxvi,  12. 

[48] 


BOOK  II]  PHARISEES 

high  but  In  the  abyss  will  He  show  them  His  sign.  Sam- 
uel had  bidden  the  thunder  resound  in  defiance  of  the  laws 
of  nature;  Ehas  had  drawn  down  fire  from  heaven;  the 
Son  of  ]VIan  has  kept  for  Himself  the  stifling  of  death  itself 
in  the  grave  by  His  glorious  resurrection.  "For  as  Jonas 
was  a  sign  to  the  Ninevites,  so  shall  the  Son  of  Man  also 
be  to  this  generation."  Jonas,  by  his  miraculous  escape 
from  death,  served  to  recall  the  Ninevites  to  penance  and 
to  salvation.  Ought  not  Jesus'  resurrection  to  be  of  like 
efficacy  for  Israel.?  The  Saviour  goes  on:  "The  Queen  of 
the  south  shall  rise  in  the  judgment  with  the  men  of  this 
generation,  and  shall  condemn  them ;  because  she  came  from 
the  ends  of  the  earth  to  hear  the  wisdom  of  Solomon,  and 
behold  more  than  Solomon  here."  What  was  Solomon's 
knowledge  when  compared  with  the  works  and  discourses 
of  Jesus  Christ.'*  And  yet  the  Queen  of  Saba,  seeking  no 
extraordinary  sign  from  heaven,  hastened  over  long  dis- 
tances and  through  the  midst  of  dangers  to  listen  to  the 
heir  of  David.  What,  then,  shall  be  the  confusion  of  the 
Jews  for  not  having  recognised  the  wisdom  of  the  INIes- 
siah,  which  was  far  more  marvellous,  and  for  having  de- 
manded proof  of  Him  in  signs !  But  the  sign  once  given 
by  His  resurrection,  far  stranger  shall  it  be  to  see  Israel 
even  yet  resist.  "The  men  of  Nineveh  shall  rise  in  the 
judgment  with  this  generation,  and  shall  condemn  it,  be- 
cause they  did  penance  at  the  preaching  of  Jonas,  and  be- 
hold more  than  Jonas  here." 

What,  then,  can  be  the  cause  of  this  strange  obstinacy 
in  the  face  of  truth.?  Jesus  tells  it  clearly.  "The  light 
of  thy  body  is  thy  eye.  If  thy  eye  be  single,  thy  whole 
body  also  will  be  full  of  light,  but  if  it  be  evil,  thy  body 
also  will  be  full  of  darkness."  By  the  eye,  indeed,  each 
of  our  members  sees  and  is  guided.  The  eye  itself  receives 
its  light  from  without,  but  it  receives  it  only  in  so  far  as 

[49] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [paet  second 

it  itself  is  pure  and  sound.  So,  too,  for  the  interior  man 
there  is  an  eye,  the  heart,  by  which  the  intellect  and  will 
are  enlightened.  If  the  heart  be  pure,  light  is  abundant; 
if  it  be  diseased,  depraved,  light  is  feeble,  inconstant,  and 
is  even  withdrawn  altogether  to  leave  us  in  darkest  and 
most  perilous  night.  "Take  heed,  therefore,  that  the  light 
which  is  in  thee  be  not  darkness."  This  is  the  greatest 
woe  that  can  come  to  man.  Vainly  shall  he  struggle  in 
the  midst  of  the  most  striking  of  divine  revelations ;  he 
shall  receive  no  light,  because  his  spiritual  eye  is  incapable 
of  being  penetrated.  Such  is  the  fate  of  the  Pharisees. 
Their  hearts  are  not  pure;  they  can  see  nothing,  and  all 
the  heavenly  signs  they  may  ask,  if  granted,  would  not 
make  them  see  more.  They  must  needs  first  cleanse  their 
soul's  eye,  put  off  their  pride,  their  hypocrisy,  their  secret 
sins,  their  formalist  prejudices;  then  naturally  they  shall 
behold  the  truth,  and  shall  not  ask  a  needless  super- 
abundance of  light. 

Meanwhile,  Jesus'  family  had  been  made  anxious  by  the 
rumours  that  were  spreading  concerning  the  tumult  of 
the  gathering;  and,  fearing  the  danger  He  might  incur 
by  braving  a  faction  no  less  fanatical  than  powerful,  they 
hurried  to  find  Him  in  order  to  lead  Him  away. 

The  presence  of  Mary  on  this  occasion  proves  that  His 
relatives  had  no  intention  of  taking  Him  away  by  main 
force,  as  some  have  concluded  from  St.  Mark's  expression.'' 
They  wished  merely  to  induce  Him  to  abandon  so  perilous 
a  position,  by  reminding  Him  that  neither  He  nor  His 
disciples  had  yet  had  time  to  take  their  repast.  The 
crowd  was  so  dense  that  the  family  had  to  convey  their 
wish  to  Him  by  means  of  intermediaries.  They  said  to 
Him:  "Behold  thy  mother  and  thy  brethren  stand  with- 

'  *E^rj\0ov  Kpa.Tri(Tai  a\>r6v. 

[50] 


BOOK  II]  PHARISEES 

out,  seeking  thee."  *  But  Jesus,  intent  on  proving  that 
there  was  a  relationship  truer,  more  intimate,  and  dearer 
to  Him  than  any  earthly  bond,  merely  replied:  "Who  is 
My  mother  and  who  are  My  brethren?"  And,  looking 
about  Him,  He  stretched  His  hand  out  toward  all  the  dis- 
ciples who  were  eager  to  receive  His  instructions,  and  ex- 
claimed :  "Behold  My  mother  and  My  brethren.  For  who- 
soever shall  do  the  will  of  My  Father  that  is  in  heaven,  he 
is  My  brother,  and  sister  and  mother!" 

He  who  does  the  Father's  will  casts  his  own  life  into 
the  very  current  of  the  life  divine.  The  bond  of  perfect 
dependence  which  he  thus  establishes  between  himself  and 
the  Father  constitutes  a  real  sonship.  From  this  point 
of  view  he  becomes  truly  the  brother  of  Jesus.  Such  rela- 
tionship, in  that  it  proceeds  from  the  heavenly  Father,  is 
only  the  more  intimate  and  the  more  glorious.  The  Mas- 
ter rightly  places  it  before  every  other.  For  is  not  the 
soul's  life  more  than  the  life  of  the  body  ? 

Many  of  His  hearers  did  not  comprehend,  the  depth  of 
what  He  said.  Through  all  the  ages  His  words  have 
stirred  up  enthusiasm,  and  have  made  him  who  received 
and  pondered  them  capable  of  any  sacrifice.  Can  too 
much  be  given  for  the  title  of  nobility  that  has  made  us 
sons  of  God  and  brothers  of  Jesus  Christ  ? 

'  The  absence  of  Josepli,  who  is  not  even  mentioned  on  this  occasion, 
is  another  proof  of  the  opinion  that  he  was  dead. 


[51] 


CHAPTER    IV 

THE   PARABLES   ON   THE   SHORES 
OF  THE   LAKE 

Why  Jesus  Begins  to  Speak  in  Parables — The  Nature 
OF  THE  Parable — The  Seed-Sowing  and  Varieties  of 
Soil  —  The  Master's  Detailed  Explanation  —  A 
Complementary  Parable  in  St.  Mark — The  Grain 
of  Mustard-Seed  —  The  Leaven  —  The  Cockle 
Among  the  Wheat  —  Jesus'  Explanation  —  The 
Treasure  —  The  Precious  Stone  —  The  Net  and 
the  Definitive  Separation  of  the  Good  from  the 
Wicked — The  True  Teacher,  for  the  Sake  of  His 
Hearers,  Varies  His  Manner  of  Teaching.  (St. 
Matthew  xiii,  1-53;  St.  Mark  iv,  1-34;  St.  Luke  viii, 
4-18,  and  xiii,  18-21.) 

Again  did  Jesus  come  forth  victorious  from  the  conflict, 
yet  it  was  becoming  evident  that  His  enemies  would  in- 
crease their  hostihty  more  and  more.  A  crowd  is  a  centre 
open  to  all;  the  evil-disposed  are  always  able  to  conceal 
themselves  therein,  and  by  their  malevolent  hints  have  the 
power  to  destroy  what  the  good  have  built  up  by  force 
of  zeal  and  patience.  Jesus,  therefore,  perceived  the  need, 
while  continuing  to  speak  to  all,  of  keeping  the  final  word 
of  His  teaching  for  those  alone  who  were  worthy  of  know- 

[52] 


BOOK  11]         THE  SHORES  OF  THE  LAKE 

ing  it.  The  philosophers  of  old  had  themselves  divided 
their  auditors  into  two  distinct  categories,^  and  in  addi- 
tion to  their  public  (exoteric)  teaching,  they  were  pleased 
to  give  a  private  (esoteric)  teaching  also.  Friends  deserve 
some  preference.  Besides,  what  Jesus  did,  took  from  no 
one  the  right  to  enter,  with  slight  effort,  into  His  whole 
thought.  Truth,  as  it  fell  from  His  lips  veiled  in  pleas- 
ing figures,  could  not,  for  that  reason,  be  any  the  less 
intelligible.  Between  friends  and  enemies  He  made  this 
sole  difference,  that  to  the  former  He  proposed  to  explain 
His  thought  in  full,  if  they  should  prove  too  dull  to  per- 
ceive it,  while  to  the  latter  He  left  the  care  of  seeking  it 
by  themselves  and  the  danger  of  not  finding  it. 

This  is  why  the  Saviour  began  to  speak  in  parables,  and 
this  kind  of  teaching  becomes  henceforward  His  ordinary 
method  of  expounding  the  mysteries  of  the  kingdom  of 
God.  St.  Matthew  observes  that  thus  He  fulfilled  the 
word  of  the  prophet :  "I  will  open  my  mouth  in  parables,  I 
will  utter  things  hidden  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world."  ^  The  parable,  as  the  w^ord  indicates,^  is  a  kind 
of  problem  given  to  those  present.  Any  problem  may 
conceal  the  truth  from  natures  too  lazy  to  seek  it,  but  the 
parable  has  the  advantage  of  fixing  it  firmly  in  the  mind 
of  him  who  has  succeeded  in  understanding  it.  To  pro- 
duce a  parable,  some  phenomenon  of  nature  or  some  inci- 
dent of  life  was  taken,  at  haphazard,  and,  in  the  narra- 
tion, concealed  as  beneath  a  material  ■*  veil,  was  the  super- 
natural  and   transcendent   idea   meant   to   be   inculcated. 

'  Aulus-Gellius,  A''.  A.,  xx,  4,  tells  this  of  Aristotle. 

^  Ps.  bocvii,  2.  Here  again  the  Evangelist  gives  a  prophetic  sense  to  the 
canticle  of  Asaph  the  Seer  (II  Paralip.  xxix,  30),  which  ought  none  the 
less,  it  would  seem,  to  be  taken  in  a  literal  sense. 

^  Tlapa^dWw  signifies  /  propose,  I  place  side  by  side.  Hence  "  parable,"  a 
problem  or  a  juxtaposition  of  figiu-e  and  truth. 

*The  word  iifioios  or  dixoideri,  found  at  the  beginning  of  each  parable 
in  the  Gospel,  tells  clearly  enough  what  a  parable  is ;  it  is  a  similitude. 

[53] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

The  parable,  then,  differs  not  only  from  the  fable,  but 
from  the  allegory  as  well.  The  fable  is  less  pretentious 
in  scope,  while  in  form  it  pays  such  slight  regard  to  the 
literal  truth  that  it  describes  inanimate  objects  as  though 
they  were  endowed  with  sense,  and  makes  even  animals  talk. 
In  the  allegory  the  symbol  identifies  itself  with  the  reality 
symbolised,  as  when  Jesus  says  allegorically :  I  am  the 
Door ;  or,  I  am  the  Good  Shepherd ;  whereas  in  the  parable 
there  is  always  found  some  further  fact  apart  from  the 
moral  teaching  which  the  parabolist  has  in  view.  The  king, 
the  wheat,  the  tares,  for  instance,  are  things  that  have  a 
truth  of  their  own  independently  of  the  lesson  to  which  they 
compel  attention.  In  a  word,  they  serve  as  a  term  of 
comparison,  and  suggest,  under  the  guise  of  forms  drawn 
from  the  world  about  one,  the  striking  moral  to  be  en- 
forced. The  genius  of  the  Orientals  has  always  encour- 
aged the  language  of  parable ;  and  it  must  be  acknowledged 
that  it  has  happily  employed  it  whenever  it  has  succeeded 
in  putting  off  its  own  natural  exuberance,  and  has  thus 
avoided  useless  details.  Unity  of  subject  here,  as  every- 
where else,  must  be  maintained ;  those  points  of  the  narra- 
tion alone  are  to  be  put  prominently  in  evidence  which  are 
to  give  a  transparent  form  to  the  truth  as  proposed.^ 

As  a  parable  is  not  an  enigma,  he  who  proposes  one, 
with  the  idea  of  arousing  the  attention  of  his  hearers 
without  fatiguing  it,  ought  to  permit  them  to  take  a  pro- 
visional glimpse  of  the  line  of  development  he  intends  to 
follow  in  order  that  they  may  seize  the  thought  half -veiled, 
as  it  were.  It  is,  therefore,  usual  to  announce  at  the  very 
beginning  the  idea  that  is  to  be  explained  in  parabolic 
form.     Confronted  with  these  two  data,  the  known  and  the 

•See  Trench,  Notes  on  the  Parables  (London,  1870);  B.  Bruce,  The 
Parabolic  Teaching  of  Christ  (London,  1882) ;  Goebel,  Die  Parabeln  Jesu 
(Gotha,  1880). 

[54] 


BooKu]         THE  SHORES  OF  THE  LAKE 

enigmatic,  indolent  minds,  or  those  of  evil  intent,  are  dis- 
heartened or  go  astray,  while  upright,  generous  natures 
feel  their  attention  roused,  and  set  themselves  actively  to 
the  task  which  will  be  completed  later  by  an  authorised 
explanation,  if  this  be  needed.  Imagination,  feeling,  in- 
tellectual activity  are  all  excited  at  once,  and  it  may  be  said 
that  through  them  the  great  doors  of  the  soul  are  opened, 
and  the  most  abstract  doctrines  enter  in  to  be  graven  the 
more  surely  for  having  been  the  more  happily  clothed  in 
sensual  and  attractive  forms.  Having  recourse,  therefore, 
to  this  interesting  method  of  teaching,  the  Saviour,  with 
wise  forethought,  will  make  the  necessary  selection  among 
His  hearers,  and  will  cause  these  souls  of  earth  to  be  per- 
meated with  the  sublime  thoughts  of  heaven. 

His  desire  must  have  been  to  define  the  present  and  the 
future  history  of  God's  Kingdom,  its  victorious  struggles 
against  evil  no  less  than  its  pacific,  moral,  and,  con- 
trary to  the  Jewish  notions  of  the  time,  thoroughly  spirit- 
ual character.  He  does  this  in  a  series  of  seven  parables, 
transmitted  to  us  by  St.  Matthew.  This  number  seven, 
the  sum  of  three,  the  number  of  the  divinity,  and  four,  that 
of  humanity,  is  not  without  a  mystic  meaning.  Taken  as  a 
marvellous  whole,  these  parables  show  us  God  uniting  Him- 
self to  man  by  His  word  and  by  His  grace  in  order  to  es- 
tablish, in  spite  of  all  obstacles,  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven 
upon  earth.  They  were  not  set  forth  in  quick  succession. 
That  would  have  resulted  in  an  insurmountable  obstacle 
for  those  minds  which  already  had  some  difficulty  in  grasp- 
ing these  problems,  one  after  the  other,  notwithstanding 
the  detailed  solutions  by  which  they  had  been  followed. 
Jesus  had  to  proceed  with  greater  tact,  and,  though  the 
points  at  which  He  paused  are  not  marked  in  St.  Matthew, 
we  may  conclude  from  a  hint  in  St.  Mark  ^  that,  after  hav- 
•  St.  Mark  iv,  10. 

£55] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

ing  put  forward  one  parable,  the  Master  always  granted 
His  disciples  time  to  search  patiently  for  its  hidden  mean- 
ing. At  any  rate,  the  first  Synoptic  is  the  only  one  who 
thus  places  them  in  a  group  of  seven.  The  second  mentions 
only  two,  and  adds  a  third  which  is  not  in  the  others.  The 
third  Synoptic  inserts  the  parable  of  the  Sower  here, 
but  places  those  of  the  Mustard-Seed  and  the  Leaven 
later  on. 

That  He  might  be  the  better  understood  by  the  multi- 
tude, and  be  free  to  withdraw  at  will.  He  once  more  entered 
a  boat ;  from  which,  fixing  His  gaze  on  the  numerous  audi- 
ence that  was  stretched  out  along  the  shore,  He  thus  began : 

"Behold  the  sower  went  out  to  sow,  and  whilst  he  sow- 
eth  some  fell  by  the  wayside,  and  the  birds  of  the  air  came 
and  ate  it  up.  And  other  some  fell  upon  stony  ground 
where  it  had  not  much  earth ;  and  it  shot  up  immediately, 
because  it  had  no  depth  of  earth;  and  when  the  sun  was 
risen,  it  was  scorched ;  and  because  it  had  no  root,  it  with- 
ered away.  And  some  fell  among  thorns,  and  the  thorns 
grew  up  and  choked  it ;  and  it  yielded  no  fruit.  And  some 
fell  upon  good  ground  and  brought  forth  good  fruit,  that 
grew  up,  and  increased  and  yielded,  one  thirty,  another 
sixty,  and  another  a  hundred."  ^  Then,  raising  His  voice, 
the  Master  spoke  His  enigmatic  summons  to  the  minds  of 
all :  "He  that  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear !" 

He  has  described  the  varying  results  of  the  divine  word 
in  souls.  Such  a  subject  was  well  worth  the  most  serious 
study.  His  hearers  must  seek  in  themselves  the  applica- 
tion of  this  parable;  and,  as  the  future  of  the  sowing 
depends  on  the  nature  of  the  soil,  it  is  of  supreme  import- 
ance that  each  one  should  endeavour  to  remove  everything 
likely  to  hinder  the  fecundation  and  full  development  of 
the  divine  germ.     Among  these  instances  of  sterility  it 

^  St.  Mark  iv,  3-9. 

[56] 


BOOK  II]         THE  SHORES  OF  THE  LAKE 

will  be  observed  that  the  first  proceeds  from  two  causes, 
both  of  which  are  exterior :  the  feet  of  the  passers-by  who 
trod  upon  the  seed,  and  the  birds  of  the  air  that  devoured 
it.  The  second,  also,  has  two  causes,  the  one  exterior,  the 
heat  of  the  sun,  and  the  other  interior,  the  want  of  depth 
of  vegetable  mould.  The  third  has  but  one  cause,  and 
that  wholly  interior :  the  soil  is  filled  with  other  seeds. 
There  is  real  fertility  only  when  the  earth  is  neither  so 
hard  as  practically  to  be  impenetrable,  nor  so  friable  as 
to  retard  growth,  nor  so  mixed  with  foreign  matter  as  to 
destroy  all  seminal  Hfe,  but  affords  good  soil  free  and  well 
prepared. 

It  is  clear  that  this  classification  corresponded  to  the 
four  categories  of  souls  which  Jesus  discerned  among  His 
hearers.  By  an  inspiration  as  happy  as  it  was  natural. 
He  had  likened  them  to  the  fields  of  varying  degrees  of 
fertility  which  He  saw  upon  the  hillsides.  It  was  from 
that  source  that  the  figure  came  that  clothed  His  thought 
and  helped  to  point  His  parable.  It  embodied  a  fresh  and 
living  idea  which  He  cast  into  the  midst  of  the  attentive 
multitude.  He  then  withdrew  and  left  them  time  to  dis- 
cover its  real  meaning. 

The  disciples  did  not  weary  their  minds  with  this  work. 
Their  perspicacity,  besides,  was  only  commonplace.  But 
when  they  were  alone  with  the  Master,  they  asked  Him 
both  the  reason  for  His  new  manner  of  teaching,  and  the 
explanation  of  what  they  had  just  heard. 

To  their  first  question  Jesus  responded:  "To  you  it  is 
given  to  know  the  mystery  of  the  Kingdom  of  God,  but 
to  the  others  it  is  not  given.  For  he  that  hath,  to  him 
shall  be  given,  and  he  shall  abound ;  but  he  that  hath  not, 
from  him  shall  be  taken  away  that  also  which  he  hath. 
Therefore,  do  I  speak  to  them  in  parables,  to  the  end  that, 
seeing  they  may  perceive  not,  and  hearing  they  may  hear 

[57] 


LIFE   OF   CH-RIST  [part  second 

and  not  understand.  So  shall  the  prophecy  of  Isaias  be 
fulfilled  in  them,  who  saith:  'By  hearing  you  shall  hear 
and  shall  not  understand;  and  seeing  you  shall  see,  and 
shall  not  perceive.  For  the  heart  of  this  people  is  grown 
gross,  and  with  their  ears  they  have  been  dull  of  hearing, 
and  their  eyes  they  have  shut,  lest  at  any  time  they  should 
see  with  their  eyes,  and  hear  with  their  ears,  and  under- 
stand with  their  heart,  and  be  converted,  and  I  should 
heal  them.'  "  « 

Such,  in  truth,  is  the  consequence  of  man's  malice  and 
of  God's  justice.  When  the  sinner  wilfully  shuts  his 
heart  against  divine  truth,  a  twofold  chastisement  falls 
upon  him:  his  eye  is  darkened  and  he  sees  not  even  the 
most  brilliant  light,  or,  if  he  sees  it,  he  does  not  perceive 
it.  God  leaves  him,  and  so  despoils  the  soul  of  whatever 
capacity  is  still  left  it  for  the  further  gift  of  supernatural 
life.  In  this  manner  is  produced  the  moral  phenomenon 
kno^Ti  as  hardening  or  palsy  of  the  heart.  It  is  not  by 
an  anterior  act  of  God's  will,  as  might  be  thought  from 
the  text  of  Isaias,  nor  by  a  final  and  absolute  act,  but  by 
a  conditional  decree,  a  judgment  of  His  providence,  that 
all  this  happens.  And  so  the  man  who  has  repudiated 
conversion  becomes,  by  the  very  spectacle  of  his  moral 
crassness,  a  warning  that  others  may  profit  by.  If  Jesus 
inaugurates  a  new  method  of  instruction,  it  is  because  the 
world  was  unwilling  to  understand  even  His  clearer  dis- 
courses. He  withdraws  the  light;  it  is  the  beginning  of 
a  punishment  which  is  as  yet  neither  complete  nor  final. 
The  Jews  might  still  by  an  effort  be  able  to  pierce  the 
surface  of  the  parable,  and  entreat  the  divine  mercy  to 
return  to  them  in  the  full  manifestation  of  its  truth.     If 

^  Isa.  vi,  9  et  seq.  This  text  is  quoted  by  St.  Matthew  alone,  and 
according  to  the  Septuagint.  In  the  prophecy,  Isaias  has  received  the  com- 
mand to  bring  about,  by  his  preaching,  tJie  hardening  of  Israel  and  its  final 
ruin. 

[58] 


BooKH]         THE  SHORES  OF  THE   LAKE 

they  do  it  not,  it  is  because  their  carnal  hearts  are  wholly 
devoted  to  death. 

As  for  the  faithful,  those  men  of  goodwill,  who  thirst 
for  light,  to  them  the  mysteries  of  God,  that  is  to  say  the 
plan  of  religion,  the  secrets  of  the  life  divine  in  its  rela- 
tions with  that  of  creatures,  will  clearly  and  patiently  be 
explained.  "But  blessed  are  your  eyes,  because  they  see, 
and  your  ears,  because  they  hear.  For,  amen,  I  say  to 
you,  many  prophets  and  just  men  have  desired  to  see  the 
things  that  you  see  and  have  not  seen  them ;  and  to  hear 
the  things  that  you  hear  and  have  not  heard  them."  This 
full  initiation  into  the  mysteries  of  heavenly  doctrine  is 
granted  to  the  disciples,  either  because  of  the  good  dis- 
position of  their  hearts,  or  in  view  of  the  part  reserved 
for  them  in  the  founding  of  the  Church.  What  they 
learn,  they  shall  be  called  upon  to  teach.  The  Master  is 
pleased  to  intrust  to  them  the  talents  which  they  shall 
have  to  render  fruitful  for  His  sake.  For  them  to  be 
enlightened  is  to  contract  the  obligation  of  enlightening 
others.  This  obligation  is  the  greatest  honour  that  can 
be  done  to  man.  Under  Jesus'  rule,  and  with  Him,  they 
shall  be  the  teachers  of  mankind. 

Then,  replying  to  their  second  question,  concerning  the 
sense  of  the  parable,  Jesus  manifests  His  benevolence  and 
patience  toward  His  own  true  proselytes. 

"The  seed  is  the  word  of  God,"  He  says.  Between  the 
grain  sown  in  the  furrow  and  the  truth  of  God  implanted 
in  souls  there  is,  indeed,  much  similarity  of  growth.  If 
nothing  happens  to  check  their  native  activity,  both  must 
produce  life  and  its  abundant  fruits.  The  first  and  veri- 
table sower  is  the  Son  of  God,  the  Word  of  the  Father, 
Who  casts  Himself  upon  the  world  like  good  grain,  first 
by  His  Incarnation,  and  then  by  His  word.  After  Him, 
there  are  other  sowers  sent  by  Him;  these  are  they  who 

[59] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

spread  on  earth  the  teachings  of  His  Gospel.  "And  they 
by  the  wayside  are  tliey  that  hear;  then  the  devil  cometh 
and  taketh  the  word  out  of  their  heart  lest  believing  they 
should  be  saved."  These  dissipated  souls,  exposed  to 
every  impression,  to  all  the  winds  of  heaven,  and  long 
since  hardened  also  beneath  the  feet  that  trample  on  them, 
are  wholly  incapable  of  receiving  the  divine  teachings  with 
profit.  The  fecundating  influence  of  grace  and  the  work- 
ings of  conscience  have  ceased  to  move  them.  And,  there- 
fore, by  failing  to  open  the  soil  of  the  heart  for  the  assim- 
ilation of  the  divine  seed,  they  leave  it  exposed.  Soon  the 
world  with  its  hurly-burly,  its  noisy  distractions,  its  dan- 
gerous maxims,  and  the  demon,  who  is  king  of  this  world, 
the  hater  of  God's  word,  kill  or  remove  these  germs  of  life. 
Thus  sealed  to  heaven  and  all  open  to  earth,  these  wretched 
souls  become  laden  with  new  responsibility  and  new  guilt, 
without  hope  of  resurrection  or  salvation.  "Now  they 
upon  the  rock  ^  are  they  who,  when  they  hear,  receive  the 
word  with  joy,  and  these  have  no  roots;  for  they  believe 
for  a  while  and  in  time  of  temptation  they  fall  away." 
These  superficial  minds  are  alas !  but  too  numerous.  In 
them  glowing  imagination  and  a  very  intense  impression- 
ism take  the  place  of  depth  and  solidity.  They  grasp  the 
truth  with  eagerness,  as  they  do  any  other  novelty  held  out 
to  them.  They  surprise  us  by  the  excess  of  their  first 
fervour,  but  the  fervour  will  not  endure.  Beneath  their 
superficial  refinement  there  is  a  fundamental  hardness,  self- 
love  and  pride,  that  cannot  sustain  true  life.  Nothing 
could  be  more  ephemeral  than  the  harvest  that  ripens  in 
such  a  soil.  It  has  not,  nor  can  it  have,  any  root.  The 
first  temptation  will  devour  it  like  the  burning  sun;  the 
first  scandal  will  uproot  it  like  an  impetuous  wind.     It  is 

*  St.  Luke  thus  characterises  them.    If  the  fields  were  merely  rocky,  the 
roots  could  still  gain  a  hold  between  the  pebbles. 

[60] 


BOOK  n]         THE  SHORES  OF  THE  LAKE 

only  inexperience  that  will  look  for  fruit  from  such  a  life. 
Imagination  divorced  from  reason,  sentimentality  without 
conviction  will  never  make  a  true  Christian. 

"And  that  which  fell  among  thorns  are  they  who  have 
heard,  and,  going  their  way,  are  choked  with  cares  and 
riches  and  pleasures  of  this  life,  and  yield  no  fruit."  These 
apparently  well-disposed  hearts,  too,  are  quite  numerous ; 
but  they  are  divided  between  God  and  the  world,  and, 
notwithstanding  their  rich  and  fertile  soil,  they  will  pro- 
duce nothing.  The  cares  of  life,  the  goads  of  concupis- 
cence, the  unchecked  desire  for  the  deceitful  riches  of  earth 
are  so  many  cruel  thorns  that  spring  up  in  them,  increas- 
ing and  multiplying  and  forming  an  impenetrable  thicket 
wherein  the  good  seed  will  die  imprisoned.  The  bushes, 
as  they  grow,  hide  it  from  the  sun,  and  by  multiplying 
their  roots,  they  dispute  with  it  the  enriching  power  of 
the  soil.  What  will  then  be  left  it  as  an  element  of  life? 
Nothing.  It  will,  therefore,  perish  miserably.  Why  has 
not  the  soul,  that  has  beheld  and  even  accepted  the  truth, 
the  courage  to  follow  it  and  by  so  doing  insure  its  own 
salvation?  This  is  the  mystery  of  evil.  Distracted,  be- 
set on  all  sides,  tormented  by  violent  passions,  it  will  see 
its  earliest  effort  spend  itself  in  miserable  steriUty. 

"But  that  on  the  good  ground  are  they  who  in  a  good 
and  perfect  heart,  hearing  the  word,  keep  it,  and  bring 
forth  fruit  in  patience."  The  fecundity  of  these  pure, 
noble  souls  is  beautiful  and  consoling.  Happily  endowed 
by  nature,  exercised  in  a  continual  moral  effort,  freed  from 
all  earthly  preoccupations,  and  made  ready  by  grace,  they 
delight  and  glorify  the  heavenly  Sower. 

This  is  the  entire  story  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  in  its 
beginnings,  its  abrupt  endings,  its  growth.  It  takes  root 
only  in  hearts  that  are  naturally  good,  responsive,  and  sin- 
cere.    All  others  it  barely  touches  in  passing  by.     It  leaves 

[61] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [paht  second 

them  barren  and  dead,  because  it  finds  them  unworthy 
of  the  gift  of  Hfe.  But  once  having  fallen  upon  good 
ground,  the  divine  word  labours  therein,  alone,  so  to  speak, 
and  fructifies  by  the  sheer  force  of  its  own  virtue.  This 
is  what  Jesus  gives  His  Apostles  to  understand  in  a  short 
parable  found  in  St.  Mark,^^  but  not  mentioned  by  St. 
Matthew,  it  would  seem,  because  those  he  gives  already 
contain  it  in  their  general  meaning. 

"When  a  man  has  sown  his  seed,"  says  the  Master, 
"whether  he  is  asleep  or  awake,  night  or  day,  germination 
will  go  on  without  his  knowing  how,  and  the  earth  will  put 
forth,  first  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  and  last  of  all  the  full 
corn  in  the  ear."  When  the  grain  is  ripe  there  is  nothing 
more  for  him  to  do  but  to  come  with  his  sickle ;  it  is  harvest- 
time.  God's  word,  it  is  true,  moves  virtuous  souls,  though 
they  know  it  not.  They  are  frequently  anxious  because 
they  do  not  perceive  their  advance  in  virtue.  Theirs  is 
like  the  impatience  of  the  husbandman  who  would  wish  to 
see  suddenly  ripe  upon  the  ear  the  grain  he  has  just  cast 
into  the  earth.  We  must  learn  to  moderate  our  eagerness, 
to  let  God's  grace  pursue  its  gradual  work,  at  times  imper- 
ceptible, but  ever  certain.  It  will  bring  the  fruit  to 
maturity,  if  we  do  nothing  to  render  the  soil  bad  or  the 
development  of  the  germ  impossible.  In  His  mercy  and 
paternal  care  God  never  wearies  of  labouring  in  the  depths 
of  souls  who  love  Him,  and  of  putting  in  them  the  power 
"both  to  will  and  to  accomplish,"  as  says  St.  Paul.^^  As, 
in  the  furrow,  the  grain  which  is  at  first  warmed,  then, 
in  turn,  moistened,  softened,  and  developed,  mysteriously 
takes  root,  and  afterward  springs  up  triumphant  from 
the  ground,  being  transformed,  multiplied,  and  ripened 
with  no  further  effort  on  the  husbandman's  part,  so  the 
religious  life  is  born  in  the  heart,  is  rooted  there,  and 
'"  Cf.  St.  Mark  iv,  26-29.  "  Philip,  ii,  13. 

[  62  ] 


BOOK  II]         THE  SHORES  OF  THE   LAKE 

then  leaps  forth  to  multiply  and  spread  by  the  most  aston- 
ishing works  of  charity,  gradually  opening  into  the  full 
maturity  of  a  sanctity  admired  of  earth,  and,  in  the  end,  re- 
warded of  heaven.  The  true  and  faithful  man  has  only 
to  remain  good — for  this  is  an  indispensable  condition — 
and  to  let  things  take  their  course.  He  may  sleep  in 
peace ;  a  fine  harvest  is  assured  him.  God,  the  great  and 
mighty  Worker,  watches  for  him,  and  His  benediction  will 
be  able  to  satisfy  our  greatest  desires. 

Thanks  to  God's  persevering,  energetic,  intimate  action 
upon  His  faithful,  the  Church,  surmounting  all  obstacles, 
must  complete  the  conquest  of  the  whole  world  and  be- 
come God's  Kingdom  made  visible  on  earth.  Her  devel- 
opment will  present  a  twofold  character  of  sudden 
grandeur  and  of  victorious  though  latent  universality, 
which  must  be  well  understood.  It  is  a  proof  of  the  divin- 
ity of  her  Founder.  That  the  idea  of  it  might  be  con- 
ceived, Jesus  expounded  two  other  parables,  one  of  which, 
concerning  the  grain  of  mustard-seed,  sets  forth  the  mira- 
cle of  the  interior  development  of  the  Church,  and  the 
other,  regarding  the  leaven,  the  amazing  power  of  her 
intimate  influence  on  the  mass  of  mankind. 

"To  what  shall  we  liken  the  Kingdom  of  God,  or  to  what 
parable  shall  we  compare  it .'"'  He  asked.  "It  is  as  a  grain 
of  mustard-seed,  Avhich  when  It  Is  sown  in  the  earth  is  less 
than  all  the  seeds  that  are  in  the  earth.  And  when  It  Is 
sown  it  groweth  up  and  becometh  greater  than  all  herbs, 
and  shooteth  out  great  branches,  so  that  the  birds  of  the 
air  may  dwell  under  the  shadow  thereof."  The  smallness 
of  the  grain  of  charlock  or  mustard-seed  was  proverbial 
among  the  Jews;^^  but  this  Invisible  seed  has  an  extraor- 
dinary vegetative  force.     In  Palestine  the  mustard-plant 

"  St.  Luke  xvai,  6. 

[63] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [pakt  second 

sometimes  attains  the  proportions  of  a  little  fig-tree.^  ^ 
Birds  in  flocks,  in  search  of  food,  alight  on  it.  Hang- 
ing from  the  sides  of  a  rock,  it  may  be,  one  of  these  hardy 
shrubs  attracted,  at  the  moment,  the  Saviour's  attention. 
He  took  from  it  the  lively  antithesis  which  He  wished  to 
set  forth,  and,  sacrificing  the  emblem  of  the  cedar  which 
Ezechiel  had  selected  in  the  prophecy  ^*  to  which  this  para- 
ble alludes.  He  looked  for  His  analogue  in  something  in- 
finitely small.  This  was  essential  in  order  to  prove  how 
nothing  can  become  everything  under  God's  inspiration. 
The  scarcely  perceptible  grain  of  mustard-seed  is  no  other 
than  this  very  Man  Who  for  thirty  years  lived  on,  hum- 
ble, ignored,  misunderstood  in  the  shop  at  Nazareth, 
Whose  only  helpers  are  twelve  unknown,  ignorant,  despised 
men,  and  Who  to-morrow  is  to  die  a  most  infamous  death. 
But,  within  itself,  this  small  seed  has  incomparable  warmth 
and  life.  In  vain  will  they  endeavor  to  shut  it  up  in  a 
grave.  It  will  shoot  forth,  and,  breaking  through  the 
ground,  will  send  out  from  its  heart  a  tree  that  shall 
astonish  the  world  by  its  luxuriant  vegetation.  This  tree 
is  the  Church;  among  iis  branches  shall  come  for  rest 
and  nutrition  the  great  souls  that  scorn  the  earth,  and  seek 
to  live  in  the  higher  regions  of  religious  knowledge,  of 
holiness,  and  of  the  life  divine.  For  nineteen  centuries 
we  may  say  that  no  great  sentiment,  no  grand  idea,  no 
sublime  devotion  has  been  in  the  world  without  seeking  a 
shelter  beneath  this  mystic  tree  and  without  finding  in 
its  branches  its  sweetest  joys  and  best  inspirations. 

Parallel  with  this  rapid  and  visible  extension  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God,  the  hidden  and  deep-set  transformation 
of  mankind  will  take  place.     Again  Jesus  said:  "Where- 

^'  Hieros.  Peak,  fol.  20,  2:  R.  Simeon  ben  Colaphta  says:  "Caulis  sinapis 
erat  mihi  in  agro  meo,  in  quam  ego  scandere  solitus  eram  ut  scandere  solent 
in  ficum  " 

^*  Ezech.  xvii,  22. 

[64] 


BOOK  II]         THE  SHORES  OF  THE  LAKE 

unto  shall  I  esteem  the  Kingdom  of  God  to  be  like?  It 
is  like  to  leaven  which  a  woman  took  and  hid  in  three  meas- 
ures of  meal,^^  till  the  whole  was  leavened."  It  is  an 
essential  property  of  leaven  to  penetrate  the  entire  mass 
in  which  it  is  placed.  It  causes  a  general  fermentation 
and  insures  for  the  bread  the  porousness  and  the  lightness 
that  constitute  its  excellence.  Jesus,  or,  if  one  prefers, 
the  Christian  teacliing,  is  the  leaven  of  the  moral  life  here 
below.  The  woman  who  puts  this  leaven  in  the  three 
measures  of  meal  is  the  Church  which,  for  nineteen  hundred 
years,  developes  the  dominion  of  the  Saviour  and  dissem- 
inates His  doctrines  in  the  three  parts  of  the  ancient  world, 
or  among  the  three  great  races  of  humanity,  until  all  is 
fermented,  raised,  and  transformed.  The  work  is  not  yet 
near  its  end.  The  secret  influence  still  goes  on.  Unbelief 
declares,  in  vain,  that  Christ  is  vanishing  from  the  world. 
He  goes  on  before  it  and  every  day  gains  new  ground. 
Every  hour  there  is  some  soul  generous  enough  to  carry 
to  a  greater  distance  the  sacred  leaven  of  the  Gospel  into 
some  corner  of  the  globe,  and  mankind  is  unconsciously 
overrun.  Even  those  who  think  to  do  naught  in  behalf  of 
Christianity,  they,  too,  for  various  reasons  stir  up  the 
inert  mass  of  paganism  and  of  barbarism ;  and,  though 
they  seek  only  to  broaden  the  confines  of  civilisation,  it  is 
the  dominion  of  Jesus  Christ  that  they  assist  in  developing. 
It  is  unfortunate  that  this  triumph  of  the  Church, 
assured  in  future  time,  does  not  exclude  all  base  alloy  from 
the  Christian  society  in  the  present.  There  will  be  always 
some  good  and  some  wicked.  The  glorious  coming  of 
Jesus  Christ  will  be  realised  despite  this  interior  obstacle 
permitted  by  God.  Therefore  we  may  not  retire  to  our 
repose  in  dangerous  optimism  and  tell  ourselves  that  since 

*^  Three  measures  of  flour  was  the  ordinary  quantity  kneaded  at  a  time 
by  the  Jews.     {Gen.  xviii,  6.) 

[65] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [pakt  second 

we  are  enrolled  in  the  Kingdom  of  God  here  below,  we  are, 
therefore,  good  and  shall  be  of  the  Kingdom  on  high. 
One  may  be  in  the  Church  and  be  a  sinner ;  we  may  wear 
the  livery  of  a  Christian  and  be  reprobate;  the  patience 
of  God  in  this  life  does  not  prevent  His  justice  in  the  life 
to  come ;  on  the  contrary,  it  the  more  forcibly  evokes  it. 
Another  parable  tells  us  this. 

"The  Kingdom  of  Heaven,"  Jesus  says  again,  "is  likened 
to  a  man  that  sowed  good  seed  in  his  field.  But  while 
men  were  asleep,  his  enemy  came  and  oversowed  cockle^® 
among  the  wheat,  and  Avent  his  way.  And  when  the  blade 
was  sprung  up  and  had  brought  forth  fruit,  then  appeared 
also  the  cockle.  And  the  servants  of  the  good  man  of  the 
house,  coming,  said  to  him :  Sir,  didst  thou  not  sow  good 
seed  in  thy  field?  Whence,  then,  hath  it  cockle?  And  he 
said  to  them:  An  enemy  hath  done  this.  And  then  the 
servants  said  to  him:  Wilt  thou  that  we  go  and  gather  it 
up?  And  he  said:  No,  lest  perhaps,  gathering  up  the 
cockle,  you  root  up  the  wheat  also  together  with  it.  Suffer 
both  to  grow  until  the  harvest,  and  in  the  time  of  the 
harvest  I  will  say  to  the  reapers :  Gather  up  first  the  cockle 
and  bind  it  into  bundles  to  burn,  but  the  wheat  gather  ye 
into  my  barn." 

This  figurative  narration  contained  something  particu- 
larly lively,  both  as  a  dialogue  and  as  a  portrayal  of 
rustic  customs.  The  disciples  became  very  eager  to  learn 
its  meaning.  We  little  understand,  in  our  day,  in  our 
civilised  countries,  the  craven  criminality  of  the  wretch 
who  scatters  bad  grain  in   his  neighbour's   furrow;   but 

*°  Some  think  that  the  word  (i(iviov  signifies  in  general  any  plant  injurious 
to  the  harvest.  Others  consider  it  a  question,  here,  of  false  oats,  the  infelix 
lolium  of  Virgil  {Ed.,  v,  37).  But  most  interpreters  claim  that  it  treats 
here  of  a  plant  quite  common  in  Palestine,  whose  kernel  is  somewhat  similar 
to  that  of  wheat.  Its  growth  is  much  the  same  as  that  of  real  grain.  It  is 
only  when  the  growth  is  completed  that  the  injurious  herb  is  distinguished 
by  its  fruit. 


BOOK  II]         THE  SHORES  OF  THE  LAKE 

Roman  law  provided  for  it,  and  travellers  tell  us  that  it  is 
still  done  in  some  countries  in  the  Orient.  The  East- 
Indian,  in  particular,  threatens  to  sow  in  his  enemy's  culti- 
vated lands  the  perum-pirandi  which  would  render  a  har- 
vest impossible  for  several  years.  He  watches  for  a 
favourable  opportunity,  and  so  succeeds  in  his  criminal 
work  as  to  throw  a  whole  family  into  despair  and  most 
awful  want.^'^  But  who  is  the  wretch  that  can  seek  to 
introduce  evil  into  the  Kingdom  of  God?  What  means 
this  separation  and  these  varying  destinies  of  the  cockle 
and  of  the  wheat  in  the  time  of  the  harvest.?  The  disci- 
ples were  impatient  in  their  desire  to  know.  The  soul 
that  is  being  initiated  into  divine  truth  feels  itself  greedy 
of  hght,  and  all  its  desires  are  for  a  full  revelation.  Here, 
in  particular,  interest  was  the  more  pressing,  as  the  grave 
question  of  the  last  end  of  man  and  of  the  diverse  forms 
of  future  hf e  seemed  to  have  been  raised. 

As  soon  as  He  had  dismissed  the  multitude  and  had  re- 
entered the  house,  Jesus  was  again  assailed  with  questions 
by  His  disciples.  They  would  know  the  full  meaning 
of  the  parable  which  they  had  heard.  With  the  touch- 
ing kindness  of  a  master  or  of  a  father  teaching  his  chil- 
dren, He  said:  "He  that  soweth  the  good  seed  is  the  Son 
of  Man  and  the  field  is  the  world;  and  the  good  seed  are 
the  children  of  the  kingdom;  and  the  cockle  are  the  chil- 
dren of  the  wicked  one;  and  the  enemy  that  sowed  them 
is  the  Devil."  The  disastrous  activity  of  evil  is  therefore 
met  at  every  step  in  life  together  with  that  of  good. 

Jesus  sows  in  the  universe — which  is  indeed  His  field 
since  He  created  it — the  race  of  the  just.  He  does  His 
work  painfully  in  the  full  light  of  the  sun,  with  suffering 
and  with  love.  Satan  accomplishes  his  hke  a  traitor  in 
the  dark  at  one  stroke — for  evil  is  done  more  swiftly  than 
"  Roberts,  Oriental  Illustrations,  p.  541. 

[67] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

good — and  with  hate.  The  errors,  the  moral  unworthi- 
ness,  the  hypocrisy  that  he  hidden  in  the  bosom  of  the 
Church,  remain  for  a  time  unperceived,  until  at  last  events 
show  forth  the  true  children  of  God  and  His  enemies,  the 
good  and  the  bad.  One  may  discern  them  even  in  this  life, 
and  the  outraged  zeal  of  the  toilers  of  the  Gospel  would  will- 
ingly ask  prompt  justice.  But  the  Master  of  the  world 
wills  it  not.  He  knows  how  to  be  patient,  because  He  is 
eternal,  and,  in  our  own  behalf.  He  determines  to  employ 
forbearance.  How  many  sinners  would  never  have  become 
good,  if  the  hand  of  God  had  suddenly  stricken  them  in 
their  malice !  And  even  when  they  are  not  converted,  is  it 
not  evident  that  they  serve  to  exercise  the  virtue  of  the 
just  and  to  glorify  it.?  As  He  awaits  in  patience  the  day 
of  the  harvest,  God  manifests  His  goodness.  His  wisdom, 
and  His  eternity.  "But  the  harvest  is  the  end  of  the 
world,"  says  Jesus,  "and  the  reapers  are  the  Angels.  Even 
as  cockle,  therefore,  is  gathered  up  and  burnt  with  fire, 
so  shall  it  be  at  the  end  of  the  world;  the  Son  of  Man 
shall  send  His  Angels  and  they  shall  gather  out  of  His 
Kingdom  all  scandals  and  them  that  work  iniquity,  and 
shall  cast  them  into  the  furnace  of  fire.  There  shall  be 
weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth.  Then  shall  the  just  shine 
as  the  sun  in  the  Kingdom  of  their  Father.  He  that  hath 
ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear."  It  is  worth  while,  for  awfully 
decisive  for  every  one  shall  be  that  moment  when  the  Angels 
shall  separate,  in  the  immense  harvest  of  mankind  laid  low 
beneath  the  scythe  of  death,  the  elect  and  the  damned. 

These  portrayals  of  eternal  pain,  as  well  as  of  eternal 
reward,  appear  here  neither  for  the  first  time  nor  for  the 
last.  The  very  insistence  with  which  they  are  reproduced 
proves  that  they  are  not  merely  a  sport  of  the  imagina- 
tion. There  shall  be  as  great  despair  in  falHng  among 
these  horrible  woes,  pictured  by  eternal  fire,  as  there  shall 

[68] 


BOOK  11]         THE  SHORES  OF  THE   LAKE 

be  holy  joy  in  entering  into  that  glory  of  which  the  bright- 
ness of  the  sun  is  but  an  imperfect  image.  Hell  for  some, 
heaven  for  others;  the  groanings  of  exile  for  the  former, 
the  joys  of  fatherland  for  the  latter.  It  is  a  question  of 
supreme  importance. 

Hence,  Jesus,  by  two  more  parables,  would  have  us  know 
that  we  must  endeavour,  at  any  price,  to  become  true  citi- 
zens of  the  heavenly  Kingdom.  Cost  what  it  may,  we  must 
get  ourselves  incorporated  therein,  and  by  keeping  our 
place  honourably  in  time,  we  shall  deserve  to  dwell  there 
for  eternity. 

"The  Kingdom  of  Heaven,"  He  says,  "is  like  unto  a 
treasure  hidden  in  a  field ;  which  a  man,  having  found,  hid 
it,  and  for  joy  thereof  goeth  and  selleth  all  that  he  hath 
and  buyeth  that  field."  It  is  not  the  procedure  by  which 
the  proprietor  of  the  field  is  deprived  of  his  right  to  the 
treasure,  that  is  here  recommended,  but  only  the  ardour 
displayed  by  him  who,  having  found  the  treasure,  endeav- 
ours to  gain  possession  of  it.  Likewise  the  soul,  having 
seen  its  religious  ideal  in  the  Gospel,  should  hasten  to 
sacrifice  both  its  repose  and  its  pleasures,  its  position 
and  its  fortune,  to  follow  after  it  and  to  attain  it.  What 
matters  all  the  rest  if  the  treasure  is  everything  for  the 
soul?  The  Jewish  people  had  this  incomparable  treasure; 
they  had  it  in  their  lands ;  but  they  suspected  it  not.  The 
Gentiles  more  happily  came  upon  it  one  day  suddenly, 
unexpectedly,  beneath  the  feet  of  their  triumphant  hordes. 
At  a  glance  they  knew  its  inappreciable  value,  and,  cast- 
ing off  their  false  wisdom,  their  false  pleasures,  their  false 
gods,  they  bought  this  divine  deposit  from  the  obstinately 
blinded  Jews ;  they  became  the  proprietors  and  have  for- 
ever supplanted  the  faithless  synagogue  which  is  rejected 
of  God. 

"Again,"  says  Jesus,  "the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  like 
[69] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

to  a  merchant  seeking  fine  pearls ;  who,  when  he  had  found 
one  pearl  of  gi*eat  price,  went  his  way  and  sold  all  that 
he  had,  and  bought  it."  Such,  also,  should  be  the  prudence 
of  the  philosopher,  of  the  man  of  meditation,  who  spends 
all  the  strength  of  his  mind  in  the  search  for  truth.  When, 
by  the  study  of  the  contents  of  Christianity  he  has  obtained 
a  view  of  its  sublime  harmony,  when  the  evidence  of  the 
Gospel  argument  has  shone  like  a  diamond  to  his  experi- 
enced eye,  he  has  only  to  close  his  books,  to  put  an  end  to 
his  search,  to  lay  aside  all  pride,  and  to  enjoy  the  incom- 
parable treasure  that  grace  has  put  beneath  his  hand.  He 
has  found  light  for  his  understanding,  a  rule  for  his  will, 
consolation  for  his  heart.  To  what  do  all  those  vanities 
now  amount,  which  up  to  this  moment  had  misled  his  life.'' 
Justin  quits  his  philosopher's  cloak;  Augustine  leaves  his 
rhetorician's  chair.  They  have  found  the  precious  stone; 
they  have  sold  all  to  buy  it,  and  their  consolation  is  in 
the  knowledge  that  on  entering  into  eternity,  while  noth- 
ing else  shall  be  of  any  value,  the  pearl  they  carry  in  their 
hands  shall  suffice  to  purchase  for  them  a  life  of  bliss. 

It  is  with  His  disciples'  minds  filled  with  this  thought 
of  eternity  that  Jesus  desires  to  leave  them.  In  a  final 
parable  which  He  draws  from  an  incident  in  the  life  of 
fishermen,  of  which  they  perhaps  were  witnesses — nothing 
was  better  suited  to  the  character  of  His  hearers,  fisher- 
men by  profession  and  future  fishers  of  men,  than  such 
language — He  speaks  once  more  of  the  varying  destinies 
that  await  the  good  and  the  bad  after  death. 

"Again,  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  like  to  a  net  cast 
into  the  sea,  and  gathering  together  of  all  kinds  of  fishes ; 
which,  when  it  was  filled,  they  drew  out,  and,  sitting  by 
the  shore,  they  chose  out  the  good  into  vessels,  but  the 
bad  they  cast  forth." 

This  will  be  the  final  result  of  the  preaching  of  the 
[70] 


BOOK  II]         THE   SHORES  OF  THE   LAKE 

Gospel.  The  net,  or  seine,  much  longer  than  it  is  wide, 
furnished  with  floats  at  the  top  and  weights  at  the  bottom, 
which  the  fishermen  cast  into  the  sea,  and  drag  in  the 
depths  of  the  waters  by  ropes  attached  to  the  extremities, 
is  the  Gospel  which  the  Apostles,  God's  valiant  workers, 
patiently  draw  through  all  the  world.  It  reaches  every- 
where, even  to  the  regions  of  the  humble  classes.  In  its 
meshes  it  encloses  every  kind  of  fish,  men  of  every  race,  of 
every  tongue,  of  every  condition,  good  and  bad.  To  those 
who  are  taken  the  Church  gives  the  mark,  the  name,  the 
law  of  the  Christian,  whatever  their  age,  though  she  is 
not  always  able  to  discover  their  interior  dispositions. 
They  live  all  together,  under  the  law  of  the  Gospel,  some 
indifferent,  some  even  perverse.  In  the  meantime  the 
Angels  of  God  insensibly  draw  the  net  to  land;  they 
lift  the  fine  catch  forth  from  the  overflowing  sea  of 
the  world,  out  of  its  deep  waters,  where  evil  is  easily 
confused  with  good,  and  cast  it  surprised  and  shuddering 
upon  the  banks  of  eternity.  There  the  great  selection 
takes  place.  That  which  is  good  they  gather  in  with  care, 
while  they  reject  with  scorn  what  is  worthless.  These  ex- 
perienced servants  make  no  mistakes.  No  merely  apparent 
virtue,  neither  prodigies  nor  clever  hypocrisy,  can  save 
the  wicked.  The  separation  will  be  fatal  and  definitive. 
Here  once  more  the  furnace  of  fire  awaits  the  guilty,  and 
they  shall  groan  therein  forever. 

"Have  ye  understood  all  these  things?"  said  the  Mas- 
ter. The  disciples  responded:  "Yes."  And  it  would  have 
been  difficult  to  present  to  them  in  more  tangible  form 
these  great  laws  of  the  supernatural  order  that  govern 
the  destiny  of  the  world.  The  Master,  content  with  their 
reply,  was  overjoyed  at  the  result  obtained,  and  advised 
the  Apostles  to  be  careful  to  vary  their  teaching,  later 
on,  so  that  it  might  be  within  the  grasp  of  their  hearers. 

[71] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [pakt  second 

He  said :  "Therefore  every  scribe,  instructed  in  the  King- 
dom of  Heaven,  is  hke  to  a  man  that  is  a  householder,  who 
bringeth  forth  out  of  his  treasure  new  things  and  old." 
Thus  the  true  messenger  of  the  Good-Tidings,  in  order 
to  vary  his  teaching  with  profit,  shall  have  at  his  disposal 
the  complete  science  of  the  Old  and  the  New  Testament. 
He  can  faithfully  expound  the  commandments  of  the  Law 
and  those  of  the  Gospel,  to  demonstrate  all  the  Messianic 
prophecies  and  their  providential  fulfilment.  Such  is  the 
variety  of  substance  in  the  hands  of  the  true  teacher.  To 
this  will  be  added,  according  to  circumstances,  men,  and 
times,  variety  of  form.  One  epoch  differs  from  another 
in  its  tastes,  in  its  intellectual  culture,  in  its  tendencies.  Of 
all  kinds  of  Gospel-preaching,  those  only  are  to  be  con- 
demned that  do  no  good.  It  is  for  the  man  of  God  to 
judge  if  he  must  introduce  a  new  method  of  exposition 
into  a  new  society,  as  Lacordaire  so  successfully  essayed 
among  the  men  of  his  time  and  nation,  or  if  it  be  better 
to  revive  the  past  with  its  more  simple  homiletic  teaching 
and  its  more  practical  and  more  pious  considerations. 
The  truth  of  the  Gospel  lends  itself  to  each  kind.  It  is 
enough  that  the  Apostle  should  have  it  sufficiently  matured 
in  his  heart,  in  advance,  in  order  to  be  able  to  present  it, 
in  turn,  with  a  wealth  of  figures,  with  logical  energy,  with 
the  simplicity  of  ordinary  colloquial  speech.  In  this  way 
he  will  prove  his  piety,  as  well  as  his  knowledge  and  his 
close  union  with  God,  even  more  than  his  talent. 

Jesus,  having  completed  these  parables  which  constituted 
the  whole  body  of  His  doctrine  concerning  the  Kingdom 
of  Heaven,  left  Capharnaum  and  the  shores  of  the  lake 
and  resumed  His  apostohc  journeyings. 


[72] 


CHAPTER    V 

THE   MISSION   OF  THE   TWELVE 

A  New  Apostolic  Journey  into  Galilee — The  Women 
Who  Follow  Jesus — Their  Devotion — The  Mas- 
ter Determines  to  Introduce  the  Twelve  to 
THE  Works  of  the  Apostolate — The  Wise  Instruc- 
tions He  Gives  Them — To  Do  Good  to  the  Man  of 
God  Will  Be  the  Same  as  to  Do  It  to  God  Himself 
— The  Apostles  Depart,  Two  by  Two,  and  Work 
Wonders.  (St.  Luke  viii,  1-3,  and  ix,  1-6;  St.  Mat- 
thew X,  1-15,  40-42;  St.  Mark  vi,  7-13.) 

Here  begins  another  series  of  journeys  in  Galilee,  the 
details  of  which  are  completely  unknown  to  us.  Jesus 
went  from  town  to  town,  from  borough  to  borough,  the 
Evangelists  ^  say,  instructing  the  people  in  the  syna- 
gogues, preaching  the  coming  of  the  Messianic  Kingdom, 
and  healing  the  sick  that  were  brought  to  Him. 

It  was  a  picturesque  and  beautiful  sight :  the  travelling 
Church  like  a  blessed  caravan,  bearing  here  and  there, 
together  with  the  Good-Tidings,  the  rich  treasures  of 
heaven.  A  few  of  the  Apostles  went  on  before  as  heralds 
to  announce  the  coming  of  the  Great  Prophet.  Some  pious 
women,  on  foot  or  mounted  on  quiet  mules,  followed  the 
glorious  expedition  and  aided  it  as  much  by  their  resources 

'  St.  Matt,  ix,  35;  St.  Mark  vi,  6;  St.  Luke  viii,  1. 

[73] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [pakt  second 

as  by  their  thoughtful  sohcitude.     Their  presence  could 
not  constitute  a  danger  to  the  Apostolic  circle. 

When  one  has  come  to  know  a  woman's  soul  in  its  utmost 
depths,  and  has  had  to  manifest  pity  for  her ;  when  one  has 
raised  her  from  her  disgrace,  restored  her  to  virtue,  and, 
above  all,  introduced  her  to  the  higher  life  of  grace,  there 
is  nothing  to  apprehend  from  her  constant  presence.  She 
deems  herself  inferior  to  her  benefactor,  and  by  that  very 
fact,  like  a  bee  disarmed,  she  has  lost  her  disastrous  goad ; 
vanity  no  longer  whispers  to  her  the  desire  of  pleasure,  and 
gratitude  removes  all  thought  of  victory  or  of  conquest. 
Then,  into  the  soul  comes  the  sweet,  calm  sentiment  of 
friendship  which  unfailingly  excludes  passion  with  its  vio- 
lence and  its  danger.  She  loves  faithfully,  devotedly,  and 
with  incomparable  tenderness.  No  longer  able  to  do  man 
harm,  she  aids  him  with  a  patience  that  nothing  wearies 
and  with  a  generosity  that  knows  no  bounds. 

All  the  women  who  followed  Jesus  had  been  healed  by 
Him  of  some  moral  or  physical  ill.  The  first  one  named 
is  Mary  Magdalen.  We  know  the  powerful  motives  of 
her  gratitude;  the  unfortunate  woman  had  been  delivered 
from  seven  demons,  that  is,  delivered  from  the  yoke  of  the 
passions  that  stained  her  youth  and  dishonoured  her  life. 
After  her  came  Joanna,  the  wife  of  Chusa  a  steward  of 
King  Herod,  it  may  be,  that  officer  of  the  court  who, 
having  obtained  from  Jesus  the  cure  of  his  son,  had 
become  a  believer  together  with  all  his  house ;  "  Susanna, 
of  whom  the  Gospel  history  gives  no  information,  and 
several  others,  who,  later  on,  grouped  at  the  foot  of  the 
cross,  or  hurrying  to  the  door  of  the  sepulchre,  will  prove, 
to  the  shame  of  the  Apostles,  that  a  woman's  heart,  in  its 
affections,  knows  not  the  inconstancy  that  sometimes  dis- 
honours the  heart  of  man. 

2  St.  John  iv,  53. 

[74] 


BOOK  II]  MISSION   OF  THE  TWELVE 

These  holy  friends,  according  to  the  Httle  information 
which  we  have  concerning  them,  belonged  for  the  most  part 
to  the  wealthier  class  of  Jewish  society,  yet  they  were  not 
without  an  admixture  of  democracy ;  for  although  Joanna 
had  lived  in  Herod's  court,  Salome,  the  mother  of  James 
and  John,  was  married  to  a  fisherman  who  had  hired  assis- 
tants, and  Mary  of  Cleophas  was  in  all  probability  the 
wife  of  a  simple  artisan.  Mary  Magdalen  was  of  an  hon- 
ourable family  of  Bethany,  of  which  we  shall  learn  some- 
thing later  on.^  All  together  assisted  Jesus  and  His 
Apostles  in  their  needs  whenever  honourable  hospitality 
failed  to  come  to  their  aid  in  the  material  difficulties  of  life. 
It  was  part  of  the  divine  plan  that  the  Messiah  should 
live  here  below  on  the  charity  of  the  people.  The  Apos- 
tolic community  had  a  treasury  in  which  were  placed  the 
alms  given  them,  and  from  which  they  drew  in  order  to 
supply  the  needs  of  the  poor.  But  the  most  certain  re- 
source was  ever  the  hearts  of  these  deserving  women  who 
had  devoted  themselves  to  the  work  of  fulfilling  for  the 
Master  and  His  disciples  the  duties  of  mothers  and  sisters. 

The  details  of  this  new  Apostolic  journey  into  Galilee 
are  wanting;  but  we  know  that  Jesus  must  have  been  im- 
pressed with  the  vast  proportions  of  the  religious  move- 
ment provoked  by  the  Good-Tidings.  He  could  not  be 
everywhere  at  the  same  time  to  do  and  to  preach,  and, 
moreover,  the  hour  was  at  hand  when  He  must  transfer  to 
Judea  and  to  Jerusalem  itself  His  work  in  the  preaching 

'It  is  surprising  not  to  find  Mary,  the  Mother  of  Jesus,  among  these 
names.  It  may  be,  however,  that  this  is  an  oversight,  occasioned  we  know 
not  how,  in  the  Synoptic  tradition ;  an  oversight  again  met  with  in  the  enumer- 
ation of  the  women  present  on  Calvary,  but  for  which  St.  John  afterward 
more  than  makes  amends.  It  may  be,  again,  that,  a  retired  and  silent  life 
being  better  suited  to  Mary's  contemplative  soul,  this  saintly  Mother  pre- 
ferred through  humility  to  refrain  from  accompanying  her  Son  in  His  tri- 
umphs, though  later  on  she  most  jealously  followed  Him  even  in  His  deepest 
humiliations. 

[75] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

of  the  Gospel.  He  determined  to  associate  His  disciples 
more  directly  in  His  own  labours.  It  was  not  in  vain  that 
they  had  received  the  title  of  Apostle.  How  could  they 
prepare  themselves  for  their  future  mission  more  profit- 
ably than  under  the  Master's  eye? 

Jesus  therefore  solemnly  called  them  together  and,  ex- 
plaining the  conditions  in  which  they  are  to  labour,  said 
to  them :  "Go  ye  not  into  the  way  of  the  Gentiles,  and  into 
the  cities  of  the  Samaritans  enter  ye  not ;  but  go  ye  rather 
to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel."  ^  The  Jews  are  to 
be  the  sole  object  of  their  first  Apostolate.  For  the  pres- 
ent, the  evangelisation  of  the  pagans  would  be  beyond  their 
strength.  They  must  await  the  coming  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  His  creative  work  at  Pentecost  before  they 
undertake  so  great  a  conquest.  Even  the  Samaritans,  the 
middle  term  between  Israel  and  the  Gentiles,  oifered  insur- 
mountable obstacles  to  inexperienced  zeal.  Great,  indeed, 
will  be  the  gain  if  the  Apostles  succeed  in  effecting  in 
some  of  their  compatriots  the  religious  transformation  that 
has  revolutionised  their  own  lives.  This  result  does  not 
seem  impossible,  for,  while  between  paganism  and  the  new 
religion  there  is  an  abyss,  between  this  latter  and  Judaism 
there  is  a  visible  connection,  and  the  transition  would  be 
most  natural. 

Besides,  in  addition  to  this  presumed  insufficiency  of 
the  Apostles,  there  is  another  motive  that  inspires  Jesus' 
recommendation.  For  Judaism  alone  He  has  destined  the 
first-fruits  of  the  Gospel.  For  Judaism  first  of  all  the 
light  rises  in  the  heavens.  Only  after  the  Jews  may 
the  Gentiles  profit  by  it.     The  sons  of  the  patriarchs,  the 

*This  recommendation  is  omitted  in  St.  Mark  vi,  8,  as  well  as  in  St. 
Luke  ix,  3.  In  the  latter  the  omission  is  accidental  and  by  no  means  m- 
spired  by  miiversalist  tendencies.  This  restriction  being  only  provisional, 
the  two  Evangelists  attach  no  importance  to  it,  and  St.  Matthew,  who 
notes  it,  will  tell  later  on  (xxviii,  19)  in  what  terms  Jesus  withdrew  it. 

[76] 


BooKu]  MISSION  OF  THE  TWELVE 

children  of  the  prophets  cannot  be  deprived  of  their  birth- 
right. Before  all  others,  theirs  is  the  privilege  of  being 
invited  to  receive  the  religious  heritage  of  their  fathers, 
to  enjoy  the  fulfilment  of  the  ancient  promises  made  to 
Israel. 

The  theme  of  the  Apostles'  preaching  is  as  follows : 
"And  going,  preach,  saying,  The  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is 
at  hand."  They  have  only  to  make  an  announcement,  to 
spread  the  tidings,  to  bear  witness,  to  attract  the  atten- 
tion and  dispel  the  indifference  of  all.  To  teach  the  word 
of  truth  magisterially,  would  as  yet  be  impossible  to  them ; 
for  one  can  give  only  what  he  has,  and  they,  scarcely 
acquainted  with  the  rudiments  of  Christian  life,  can  neither 
define  its  conditions  nor  make  known  its  elements.  Their 
work  is  to  announce:  "The  Messiah  is  come."  To  gain 
credit  for  their  assertion,  they  will  perform  miracles. 
"Heal  the  sick,"  adds  Jesus  .  .  .  "cleanse  the  lepers,  cast 
out  devils."  By  this  sign,  the  miracle,  the  guarantee  of 
truth  given  by  God  to  human  words,  men  shall  see  that 
they  are  not  liars.  By  their  disinterestedness  they  shall 
be  known  as  men  serving  no  human  intention,  but  follow- 
ing a  higher  inspiration.  "Freely  have  you  received, 
freely  give."  By  accepting  money  they  would  degrade 
the  Apostolic  ministry.  Providence  will  care  for  the 
heralds  of  the  Good-Tidings.  God  takes  upon  Himself 
the  keeping  of  His  servants.  "Do  not  possess  gold,"  the 
Master  continues,  "nor  silver,  nor  money  in  your  purses ; 
nor  scrip  for  your  journey,  nor  two  coats,  nor  shoes,  nor 
a  staff ;  ^   for  the  workman   is  worthy  of  his  hire."      In 

^  Were  we  to  repeat  the  word  two  before  shoes  and  staff,  we  should  do 
away  with  the  apparent  divergency  between  St.  INIark  and  St.  INIatthew.  In 
the  latter  Gospel  the  Saviour  means:  "Take  nothing  more  than  what  you 
already  have,  no  other  shoes,  no  other  staff";  in  the  former:  "What  you 
now  have  with  you  will  suffice,  the  shoes  on  your  feet,  the  staff  in  your 
hand,"  etc.  The  text  of  St.  Luke  (ix,  13)  is  more  difficult.  This  is  prob- 
ably another  of  those  unimportant  inaccuracies  which  we  must  admit  in 

[77] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [p.-^t  second 

return  for  the  truth  he  brings,  the  Apostle  will  receive  the 
material  help  necessary  that  he  may  live. 

"And  into  whatsoever  city  or  town  you  shall  enter,  in- 
quire who  in  it  is  worthy."  The  Apostle  honours  him  with 
whom  he  lodges.  "Wheresoever  you  shall  enter  into  a 
house,  there  abide  till  you  depart  from  that  place."  Any 
change  would  denote  a  desire  of  comfort  and  a  certain 
inconstancy  of  character  unworthy  in  a  man  of  God,  and 
besides  would  wound  the  feelings  of  the  host,  whom  he 
would  seem  to  disdain.  The  true  labourer  of  the  Gospel 
is  content  with  what  he  has  at  hand,  seeking  nothing  better, 
believing  that  God  in  His  mercy  had  prepared  this  for 
him.  He  would  hesitate  to  substitute  for  the  will  of  his 
Heavenly  Father  his  own  pleasant  personal  preferences. 

"And  when  you  come  into  the  house,  salute  it,  sajang. 
Peace  be  to  tliis  house ;  and  if  that  house  be  worthy,  your 
peace  shall  come  upon  it."  If  the  family  respond  to  the 
blessing  pronounced  upon  it,  if  by  its  virtues  it  merit  re- 
ceiving the  man  of  God,  the  Apostle's  wish  is  accomplished, 
and  heaven's  benediction  is  fulfilled.  "But  if  it  be  not 
worthy,  your  peace  shall  return  to  you."  The  Apostles 
shall  keep  the  divine  favours  for  some  more  hospitable  and 
better-disposed  people.  "And  whosoever  shall  not  receive 
you,  nor  hear  your  words,  going  forth  out  of  that  house 
or  city  shake  off  the  dust  from  your  feet  ^   for  a  testi- 

the  sacred  text,  unless  we  read  pd$Sovt,  as  in  St.  Matthew,  and  not  'pd$$ov, 
as  in  St.  Mark;  but  the  absolute  negative  /iTjSeV  renders  this  reading  in- 
admissible. However,  although  the  terms  differ,  the  idea  is  the  same  in 
all  three  Gospels:  "No  preparation  for  the  journey;  go  as  you  are  with 
God's  protection." 

'  The  Jews  were  accustomed  to  shake  the  dust  from  their  shoes  when 
they  had  walked  on  pagan  ground.  The  places  inhabited  by  Gentiles  were 
as  vile  as  the  Gentiles  themselves.  In  Jewish  casuistry  there  are  ridiculously 
severe  prescriptions  regarding  this.  See  Lightfoot.  Hor.  Hebr.,  in  St.  Matt. 
X,  14.  Jesus  means  here  that  the  faithless  Israelite  must  be  for  the  Apostle 
like  a  veritable  pagan,  and  that  his  crime  is  abominable  in  God's  sight. 
St.  Paul  obeyed  these  precepts.     (Acts  xiii,  15 ;  xviii,  6.) 

[78] 


BOOK  II]  MISSION  OF  THE  TWELVE 

mony  against  them.  Amen,  I  say  to  you,  it  shall  be  more 
tolerable  for  the  land  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrha  in  the  day 
of  judgment  than  for  that  city."  Nothing  reaches  the 
Master's  heart  more  sensibly  than  the  welcome  given  to 
His  disciples.  If  closing  against  them  the  door  of  the 
house  or  the  gates  of  the  city  is  a  crime,  giving  them  a 
cordial  welcome  will  be  a  meritorious  act.  "He  that  receiv- 
eth  you,"  again  says  Jesus,  "receiveth  Me;  and  he  that 
receiveth  Me  receiveth  Him  that  sent  Me.  He  that  receiv- 
eth a  prophet  in  the  name  of  the  prophet,  shall  receive  the 
reward  of  a  prophet."  To  nourish  him,  to  shelter  him,  to 
clothe  him  is  to  aid  him  in  the  fulfilment  of  his  mission, 
to  have  a  share  in  his  labours  and,  consequently,  in  his 
merits.  "And  he  that  receiveth  a  just  man  in  the  name 
of  a  just  man,  shall  receive  the  reward  of  a  just  man." 
How  often  this  thought  has  opened  the  heart  and  the  treas- 
ury of  the  rich  to  the  servants  of  God,  seeking  assistance 
for  their  projects!  The  Master's  word  has  pleaded  for 
them  and,  thanks  to  the  generous  souls  who  have  heard 
it,  their  goodwill,  their  faith,  their  devotion  have  been 
enabled  to  realise  the  most  sublime  dreams  of  charity  and 
of  religion. 

And,  finally,  with  a  deep  feeling  of  tenderness  for  these 
humble  disciples  who  go  joyously  to  inaugurate  their 
Apostolate,  but  whose  coming  trials  He  clearly  perceives. 
He  exclaims :  "And  whosoever  shall  give  to  drink  to  one 
of  these  little  ones  a  cup  of  cold  water  only  in  the  name 
of  a  disciple,  amen,  I  say  to  you,  he  shall  not  lose  his 
reward." 

For  a  first,  tentative  mission,  which  was  to  be  brief 
and  free  from  danger,  these  instructions  were  sufficient. 
Moreover,  the  attitude  of  the  Galilean  towns  whither  the 
Apostles  were  going  was,  for  the  most  part,  encouraging. 
Any  messenger  who  announced  the  Messiah  would  be  wel- 

[79] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [pakt  second 

corned  there.  Later  on,  when  the  seventy  disciples  them- 
selves are  sent  upon  their  mission,  we  shall  study  the  Mas- 
ter's words  of  advice  for  times  of  persecution.  Then  they 
shall  come  from  His  lips  most  naturally,  since  the  storm 
will  surround  the  little  flock  on  all  sides.  It  will  seem  only 
reasonable  that  the  Shepherd,  after  having  told  of  the 
woes  that  await  Himself,  should  speak  of  the  trials  re- 
served for  His  representatives.^ 

The  Apostles,  therefore,  departed  two  by  two,  as  Jesus 
had  recommended.^  They  did  this  as  a  means  of  mutual 
help  and  of  giving  authoritative  testimony  to  the  truth; 
for  the  law  recognised  as  true  the  depositions  of  two  wit- 
nesses who  agreed.  When  the  moon  of  Nisan  appeared 
in  the  sky,  two  men  went  and  presented  themselves  before 
the  Sanhedrim  to  attest  that  they  had  seen  it,  and,  on  their 
affirmation,  the  beginning  of  the  new  year  was  proclaimed. 
It  was  right  that  the  Apostles  also  should  be  sent  In  twos, 
as  witnesses  who  were  to  announce  to  a  city  the  rising  of 
the  sun  of  justice  and  the  commencement  of  the  Gospel  era. 

The  Apostles  spread  rapidly  In  all  directions,  preach- 
ing repentance  and  preparing  hearts  for  the  approach  of 
the  Kingdom  of  God.  They  were  readily  welcomed,  and 
nothing  failed  thern.^  They  exorcised  demons  and  healed 
many  that  were  sick.  The  better  to  arouse  the  faith  of 
the  infirm,  they  had  recourse,  according  to  St.  Mark,  to 
an  outward  sign,  the  anointing  with  oil.  Doubtless,  the 
Master  had  so  commanded.     Besides,  He  Himself  did  not 

'  St.  Matthew  has  put  all  this  together  because,  passing  over  the  later 
sending  of  the  seventy  disciples,  he  found  trouble  in  otherwise  distributing 
those  important  instructions  which  he  did  not  wish  to  sacrifice.  Again,  it 
is  well  known  that  he  took  pleasiu-e  frequently  in  summing  up  in  one  dis- 
course such  teachings  as  were  analogous,  although  given  at  different  times. 
St.  Luke,  in  this  discourse  at  least,  puts  each  in  its  own  place. 

*  St.  Mark  vi,  7,  is  alone  in  observing  that  they  were  to  go  two  by  two; 
but  the  lists  of  Apostles  all  seem  to  be  made  in  \'iew  of  this  arrangement. 

*  We  learn  this  from  a  word  that  Jesus  uttered  during  the  Last  Supper. 
(St.  Luke  xxii,  35.) 

[80] 


BOOK  II]  MISSION   OF  THE  TWELVE 

hesitate  at  times  to  move  the  senses  that  He  might  reach 
the  soul,  and  to  employ  a  material  element  that  He  might 
awaken  faith  in  those  whom  He  desired  to  heal.  When  He 
made  use  of  His  own  spittle  to  open  the  eyes  of  a  blind 
man  or  to  loose  the  tongue  of  one  deaf  and  dumb,  it  was 
solely  to  supply,  by  this  physical  contact,  the  moral  influ- 
ence which  His  look  or  His  word  could  not  produce.  Like- 
wise the  Apostles,  by  applying  oil  to  the  bodies  of  the 
sick,  sought  to  arouse  religious  dispositions  in  their  souls. 
And  thus  they  prepared  the  miraculous  cure  signified  by 
the  anointing. 

Their  mission  was  not  fruitless.  The  religious  move- 
ment was  seen  to  grow  more  and  more  in  Galilee.  From 
this  agitation  there  came  forth  new  recruits  to  the  nas- 
cent Church.  Jesus  received  them  with  joy  and  patiently 
undertook  their  religious  formation.  But  the  march  of 
events  was  not  to  leave  Him  for  long  the  leisure  to  pursue 
this  work  of  edification. 

The  Apostolic  group  itself  will  claim  His  chief  efforts, 
for  it  must  be  disciplined  in  all  haste,  by  drill,  both  in 
retreat  and  in  resistance,  before  it  shall  be  led  to  the 
decisive  combat  in  the  capital  of  Judea. 


[81] 


Section  III 
Jesus  Disciplines  His  Church 

CHAPTER    I 

HEROD  ORDERS  JOHN   THE   BAPTIST 
TO   BE  PUT   TO   DEATH 

Popular  Opinion  Regarding  Jesus — Herod's  Terror 
— How  Two  Women,  Herodias,  the  Adulteress,  and 
Salome,  the  Dancer,  Induced  Him  to  Sentence  the 
Precursor  to  Death — The  Baptist's  Head  on  a 
Charger — Herod  Would  See  Jesus — Danger  of 
Sedition — The  Withdrawal  to  Philip's  Territory. 
(St.  Mark  vi,  14-16  and  21-29;  St.  Matthew  xiv,  1  and 
6-12 ;  St.  Luke  ix,  7-9.) 

After  the  mission  of  the  Apostles  the  name  of  Jesus 
was  more  than  ever  upon  the  lips  of  all.  It  reached  even 
the  ears  of  Herod,  who  at  once  became  anxious.^       This 

*  For  at  least  a  year  Jesus  had  been  agitating  the  multitudes  in  Galilee 
and  had  been  accorapUshing  prodigious  works  at  the  gates  of  Tiberias ;  how 
is  it  to  be  explained,  then,  that  Herod  had  not  yet  paid  any  attention  to  Him  ? 
Probably  the  Saviour  had  commenced  His  public  life  at  the  very  time  when 
the  tetrarch  was  detained  either  at  Rome  to  defend  his  interests  in  the 
presence  of  the  Emperor,  or  on  the  Arabian  frontier  to  check  the  hostilities 
of  Aretas.  Besides,  we  are  aware  that  it  was  not  characteristic  of  this 
sceptical  and  voluptuous  prince  to  bother  himself  with  the  religious  questions 
that  might  be  disturbing  his  subjects,  unless  public  order  was  thereby 
troubled.  The  Herods  much  preferred  to  let  the  sects  and  the  Rabbis 
engage  in  discussion  as  long  as  they  did  not  refuse  to  pay  taxes  and  were 
not  disobedient  to  the  government.  Hence,  when  John  the  Baptist  was 
thrown  into  prison,  it  was  because  he  directly  accused  the  person  of  the 
tetrarch. 

[82] 


BOOK  II]        JOHN  THE  BAPTIST'S  DEATH 

prince,  always  hesitating  between  the  hatred  that  Herodias 
stirred  up  in  him  against  John  the  Baptist  and  the  fear 
of  the  people  which  protected  the  venerable  prisoner,  had 
finally  committed  a  great  crime. 

The  ordinary  punishment  of  criminals  is  to  be  pur- 
sued pitilessly  by  the  memory  of  their  victims,  and  to  live 
as  if  they  already  felt  the  avenging  arm  which  even  in 
this  life  begins  to  seize  upon  them.  Everything  conspires 
to  excite  in  them  continual  terror.  Conscience  instinc- 
tively echoes  the  most  extravagant  suppositions  of  the 
multitude.  Jesus'  reputation  spread  from  day  to  day, 
and  those  who  did  not  know  His  history  and  who,  per- 
haps, had  never  seen  Him,  said :  "John  the  Baptist  is  risen 
again  from  the  dead;  and  therefore  mighty  works  show 
forth  themselves  in  him."  Others  chose  to  believe  that 
it  was  EHas  who  had  come  back  to  earth,  or  a  prophet  of 
olden  times.  Herod  was  struck  above  all  by  the  words  of 
the  former,  and  his  terror  inclined  him  to  share  their 
opinion.  "It  is  John,"  he  cried  out,  "John,  whom  I  be- 
headed ;  he  is  risen  again  from  the  dead."  And  he  sought 
an  opportunity  to  see  the  Thaumaturgus  of  whom  every- 
body was  talking.  It  may  be  that  in  his  heart  he  had  a 
vague  desire  to  prove  either  that  the  dead  do  not  come 
back,  or  that,  if  John  has  come  back,  his  crime  is  in  part 
repaired. 

The  wretched  man  had  ordered  the  Baptist  to  be  put 
to  death  in  peculiarly  odious  circumstances.  The  Evan- 
gelists have  given  us  a  dramatic  account  of  it. 

It  was  the  very  day  on  which  the  prince  was  celebrat- 
ing the  anniversary  either  of  his  birth  or  of  his  accession 
to  power.2     The  nobles  of  his  court,  the  generals  of  his 

'  The  text  yevetrlois  ytvofievois  has  been  variously  interpreted.  For  some, 
it  signifies  the  anniversary  of  the  birth,  which  the  ancients  celebrated  with 
solemnity.  (Gen.  xl.  20 ;  II  Mach.  vi,  7.)  In  this  sense  Josephus  (Antiq., 
lib.  xii,  4,  7)   uses  it  when  he  speaks  of  the  great  personages  of  Syria, 

[83] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [pakt  second 

army,  and  the  leading  personages  of  the  country  had  been 
invited  to  his  table.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  banquet  there 
were  mimic  scenes,  lascivious  dances,  intended  to  excite  the 
evil  passions  of  the  banqueters.  The  Rome  of  Cicero  had 
long  practised  these  unhealthy  exhibitions.^  The  Rome  of 
the  Caesars  spread  them  over  the  world  together  with  all 
the  rest  of  their  immorality.  Herod  the  Elder  had  estab- 
lished a  theatre  in  his  palace  and  a  circus  in  Jerusalem. 
It  is  not  surprising  that  his  son,  a  vassal  yet  more  servile 
than  the  father,  had  set  himself  the  task  of  imitating  the 
dissolute  morals  of  his  masters.  To  enliven  the  brilliancy 
of  the  feast,  the  daughter  of  Herodias,*  the  young  Salome, 
forgetful  of  what  she  owed  to  the  memory  of  her  own 
father,  presented  herself  upon  the  scene.  Cleverly  reared 
in  the  school  of  crime  and  of  seduction,  she  achieved  a 
great  success.  The  prince,  already  heated  by  the  fumes  of 
wine,  sought  to  respond  to  the  applause  of  the  guests  and 
to  testify  to  his  own  satisfaction  by  offering  to  grant  the 
young  girl  whatever  she  might  desire.  Calling  her  to  his 
side,  he  said  to  her:  "Whatsoever  thou  shalt  ask  of  me,  I 
will  give  it  thee,  though  it  be  the  half  of  my  kingdom." 
This  was  offering  much  for  Httle.  From  the  imprudence 
of  these  words  we  may  see  that  the  tetrarch's  head  was 

who  celebrated  the  birthday  of  the  King's  sons.  For  others,  following  /  Kings 
xiii,  11,  and  Ps.  ii,  7,  it  means  the  anniversary  of  the  accession  to  the  throne. 
(Comp.  Dion  Cass.,  xlvii,  18.;  In  this  case,  the  murder  of  the  Baptist 
would  here  be  in  its  proper  place  chronologically,  for  we  are  approaching 
the  Paschal  time,  and,  Herod  the  Great  having  died  about  seven  days  before 
the  Passover,  Antipas  would  celebrate  his  accession  at  about  this  very  time. 
In  fact,  it  is  not  unusual  for  the  word  yeyeaia  to  signify  the  day  on  which  a 
prince  ascended  the  throne.  (See  Herodotus,  iv,  26,  and  Suicer,  Thesaurus, 
1,  p.  746.) 

^  Cicero,  Pro  Murena,  c.  6:  "Tempestivi  convivii,  amoeni  tori,  midtarum 
divitiarum  comes  est  extrema  saltatio."     (See  Horace,  Od.,  iii,  5,  21.) 

*  Salome  was  the  child  of  Herodias,  the  daughter  of  Herod  the  Great  and 
Berenice,  by  her  first  husband,  whom  she  had  shamefully  abandoned.  This 
was  Herod-Philip,  son  of  Mariamne.  Por  the  strange  history  of  this  family 
of  Herod,  see  M.  de  Saulcy's  book.  Hist.  d'Herode  (Paris,  1867). 

[84] 


BOOK  II]        JOHN   THE   BAPTISTS  DEATH 

affected.  It  may  be  that  he  thought  to  keep  his  promise 
with  some  rich  present  on  the  occasion  of  the  approaching 
wedding  of  Salome  and  PhiHp,  Tetrarch  of  Ituraea.  Un- 
consciously, the  wretched  man  had  promised  a  crime. 

The  young  girl  went  out  for  a  moment  to  consult  with 
her  mother  about  the  request  she  should  make.  So  gen- 
erous a  promise  falling  from  the  royal  lips  was  embarrass- 
ing. Herodias  quickly  decided  the  question  and  herself 
dictated  the  response.  The  guilty  mother,  fearing  only 
that  she  might  be  repudiated  when,  in  Herod's  soul,  the 
voice  of  the  Baptist  had  become  stronger  than  passion, 
could  have  but  one  desire,  that  of  suppressing  every  dan- 
ger by  the  suppression  of  this  advocate  of  public  morality. 
She  had  long  contended  with  the  obstinate  refusal  of  the 
tetrarch  her  seducer.  The  latter,  as  we  have  said  else- 
where, hesitated  at  this  final  crime,  as  much  through  ven- 
eration of  the  imprisoned  prophet  as  through  fear  of  a 
popular  uprising.  At  last  he  was  to  be  overcome.  Woman, 
astute  once  she  has  become  criminal,  knows  how  to  await 
the  favourable  moment  to  destroy  by  one  stroke  of  daring 
the  last  sentiments  of  justice  and  honour  that  still  remain 
in  the  heart  of  her  captive. 

The  adulterous  princess,  therefore,  worded  the  reply  to 
be  given  to  the  tetrarch.  Salome  returned  in  triumph  to 
the  banquet-hall  and,  with  a  smile  upon  her  lips,  she  asked 
of  the  tetrarch  neither  a  necklace  of  pearls  nor  a  crown 
of  gold,  but  the  head  of  John  the  Baptist,  all  bloody,  in 
one  of  the  banquet-dishes.  It  was  a  frightful  blow  and 
well  calculated  to  recall  to  his  senses  the  half -intoxicated 
man  who  had  provoked  and  who  now  received  it.  Herod 
at  once  became  sad  and  troubled.  But,  alas !  his  word 
had  been  pledged  with  an  oath.  At  the  same  time,  the 
courtiers — women  like  Herodias  always  have  such  at  their 
service — seized  the  opportunity  to  overcome  the  final  hesi- 

[85] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

tatlon  of  the  royal  conscience.  They  pleaded,  no  doubt, 
that  there  was  greater  danger  in  letting  John  live  in 
his  prison  than  in  putting  him  to  death.  The  populace 
were  growing  troublesome  on  the  subject  of  the  captive. 
John  was  the  ally  of  Aretas,  inasmuch  as  he  pleaded  the 
cause  of  his  repudiated  daughter.  Aretas  had  declared 
war,  and  a  word  from  Jolin  the  Baptist  might  provoke 
a  most  disastrous  revolution.  Reasons  never  fail  policy 
when  it  wishes  to  abet  a  crime.  Overcome  by  these  argu- 
ments and  not  daring  to  prove  false  to  his  sworn  word, 
Herod  made  a  sign  to  the  guard  who  was  near  by,  and 
the  latter  departed  to  strike  down  the  victim. 

The  victim  was  not  far  away.^  In  fact,  the  executioner 
soon  returned,  bringing  to  Salome  the  ghastly  gift  so  much 
desired,  and  the  girl  went  off  in  triumph  to  present  it  to 
her  mother.  Human  cruelty  is  capable  of  inconceivable 
excesses.  Marius  had  held  in  his  hands  the  head  of  Mark 
Antony,  the  orator,  and,  in  the  midst  of  a  banquet,  had 
most  ironically  apostrophised  it.^  Fulvia  had  taken  that 
of  Cicero  upon  her  knees,  to  pierce  his  tongue  with  needles. 
We  know  not  what  the  incestuous  Herodias  might  have 
said  or  done  before  the  bloody  dish  in  which  she  beheld 
the  face  of  her  pitiless  adversary.  As  for  Herod,  he  did 
not  soon  forget  that  mouth  eloquent  even  to  the  point  of 
death,  and  the  memory  of  his  victim  pursued  him  hence- 
forward hke  an  unrelenting  torment.     Thus  is  explained 


'The  expressions  employed  by  both  Evangelists  prove  this  sufficiently. 
The  young  girl  asks  that  the  head  be  brought  "  forthwith  "  (4  ^mrvs)  {St. 
Mark  vi,  27),  or,  "  here"  («Se)  {St.  Matt,  xiv,  8),  that  is,  on  the  instant,  and 
the  soldier  brought  it  in  one  of  the  dishes  used  at  the  banquet  (eVi  nlyaKi) . 
We  cannot  suppose,  therefore,  that  Herod  was  in  Tiberias  and  John  in  the 
fortress  of  Machaerus.  It  would  have  taken  more  than  two  days  for  the 
executioner  to  make  the  journey.  It  is  probable  that  at  that  time  the 
tetrarch  was  holding  his  court  at  Machserus,  whence  he  could  with  ease 
direct  the  war  against  the  King  of  Arabia. 

°  Valerius  Maximus,  ix,  2. 

[86] 


BOOK  II]        JOHN  THE  BAPTIST'S  DEATH 

the  terrified  cry  which  the  Evangehsts  put  upon  his  lips: 
"Tliis  is  John  the  Baptist." 

This  news  reached  the  Saviour  while  multitudes  sur- 
rounded Him  on  the  shores  of  the  lake.  The  popular  emo- 
tion was  great  when  the  Baptist's  disciples,  who  had  just 
fulfilled  their  last  duty  to  their  master,  were  heard  relat- 
ing his  tragic  end.  A  general  revolt  was  possible.  If 
Herod  attempted  to  have  Jesus  brought  before  him,  such  a 
revolt  was  almost  certain.  At  any  price,  this  must  be 
avoided. 


[87] 


CHAPTER    II 

JESUS   MULTIPLIES   BREAD   AND 
WALKS   UPON   THE   WATER 

His  Motives  for  Escaping  from  the  Enthusiastic 
Multitudes — Journey  to  the  Desert  of  Bethsaida 
— The  Multitudes  Preceded  Jesus  —  How  Shall 
Five  Thousand  Men  Be  Nourished  with  Five  Loaves 
OF  Bread  and  Two  Small  Fishes? — Creative  Power 
OF  THE  Divine  Benediction — The  Passover  in  the 
Desert — The  People  Show  Their  Political  Inten- 
tions— Jesus  Has  the  Apostles  Embark  in  Order  to 
Withdraw  Them  from  the  Influence  of  the  Mul- 
titude— He  Comes  to  Them  Walking  on  the  Water 
— Peter  Is  Associated  with  Him  in  the  Miracle — 
They  Approach  Genesareth.  (St.  Luke  ix,  10-17; 
St.  Mark  vi,  30-56 ;  St.  Matthew  xiv,  13-36 ;  St.  John 
vi,  1-21.1) 

In  the  meantime  the  Apostles  had  returned  from  their 
mission.      The  Master  had,  no  doubt,  fixed  the  time  it 

*  For  the  first  time  the  Syrioptics  and  St.  John  give  the  same  account. 
The  latter  brings  Jesus  hiuriedly  from  Jerusalem,  where  He  was  assisting 
at  some  feast,  to  the  shores  of  I^ke  Tiberias  that  we  may  \\itness  the  crisis 
of  behef  in  Galilee,  as  we  have  heretofore  seen  it  in  Judea.  It  is  by  refusing 
to  be  the  jwlitical  Messiah  dreamed  of  by  the  Jews,  that  Jesus  alienated 
this  people.  The  Synoptics  agree  with  St.  John  on  this  imp<irtant  point. 
No  doubt  the  independence  of  each  account  is  evident  if  we  consider  the 
many  apparent  divergences  to  he  found  in  them;  but,  in  reahty,  the  final 
result  and  the  salient  points  are  maintained  by  all  four  narrators,  thus: 

[88] 


BOOK  II]  JESUS  MULTIPLIES  BREAD 

should  last  and  the  place  where  they  should  rejoin  Him. 
This  place  of  reunion  is  known  to  us  only  in  a  general  way  ; 
it  was  on  the  shores  of  the  lake  that  the  Apostolic  group 
came  together  once  more.  A  word  in  St.  John  ^  would 
indicate  that  it  was  near  Tiberias,  recently  built. 

The  Apostles  rendered  an  account  of  what  they  had  done 
and  taught  during  their  journeyings,  but  the  terms  used 
by  the  Evangelist  justify  the  belief  that  it  was  without 
enthusiasm.  The  news  of  the  tragic  end  of  the  Baptist 
had  doubtless  thrown  a  cloud  upon  their  early  mission- 
ary joy.  They  came  back  downcast.  The  ebb  and  flow 
of  the  multitudes  about  Jesus,  with  all  these  seekers 
after  miracles  who,  coming  once  again  to  obtain  the  cure 
of  their  sick,  left  to  those  who  were  well  not  even  the 
time  to  eat,  made  a  most  trying  situation.  For  the  soul 
as  well  as  the  body  of  an  Apostle  is  not  seldom  in  need  of 
acquiring  new  strength  in  quiet  and  in  solitude.  Jesus 
said  to  the  Apostles :  "Come  apart  into  a  desert  place  and 
rest  a  little."  He  thought  that,  in  the  meantime,  the  crowd 
would  disperse,  and  that  with  it  would  disappear  all  dan- 
ger of  a  sedition.  Moreover,  a  lofty  sense  of  propriety 
might  move  the  Gospel  labourers  to  honour,  by  a  few 
days  of  silence,  the  memory  of  him  who  had  just  fallen 
beneath  the  headsman's  axe,  after  having  gloriously  com- 
pleted his  career  as  Precursor  and  as  witness. 

They  therefore  entered  the  boat  and,  leaving  the  multi- 
tude on  the  bank,  they  went  off  toward  a  solitary  place 
in  the  land  of  Bethsaida,  on  the  other  side  of  the  sea  of 

the  crowds  that  follow  Jesus  into  the  desert,  the  five  thousand  men,  the 
five  loaves  and  two  fishes,  the  twelve  baskets  of  fragments,  the  thanks- 
giving. Mark  and  John  speak  of  the  turf  on  which  the  people  were  seated 
and  of  the  two  hundred  pennyworth  of  bread.  John  mentions  by  name 
several  whom  the  others  do  not  specify.  He  tells  us  what  part  Phihp  and 
Andrew  take,  and  of  the  little  boy  who  had  the  barley-loaves.  We  recog- 
nise an  eye-witness. 
'  St.  John  vi,  23. 

[89] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

Galilee.^  Whether  it  was  that  the  multitudes,  through 
some  indiscretion,  had  learned  the  place  whither  they  were 
going,  or  had  followed  the  boat  with  their  eyes,  as  it  sped 
along  the  shore,  they  soon  overtook  on  foot  those  who  were 
hastening  to  escape  them.      St,   John   seems  to  say  that 

'  Where  and  under  what  conditions  are  we  to  seek  tliis  spot  ?  First  of 
all,  near  the  lake,  since  they  reached  it  by  boat;  then,  in  an  uninhabited 
locality,  for  Jesus  wished  to  be  far  from  the  noise  of  the  crowds ;  finally,  in  a 
restful  place,  at  the  foot  of  a  mountain  where  the  Master  went  alone  to  pray, 
and  on  whose  side  the  multitudes  could  be  seated  on  the  grass.  It  is  the 
generally  accepted  reading  of  St.  Luke  ix,  10,  wrext^p'jo'e*'  els  ttSmv  KaKov/xtfrjv 
Br)9craiSd,  which  alone  creates  any  difficulty.  The  Codex  Sinaiticus, 
which  suppresses  it,  and  the  Syriac  versions,  are  probably  the  most  correct. 
How,  in  fact,  can  we  suppose  that  the  Evangelist  would  direct  Jesus  to  a 
town  when  He  desired  to  isolate  Himself  with  His  disciples?  In  reality 
He  conducted  them  to  a  desert  place  {4v  ep-f)/j.ci>  rSvcp,  v.  12),  where  there 
were  only  hamlets  (Kd/xas)  and  fields  (/fol  aypohs),  and  where  it  was  impossible 
to  find  food.  Of  an  important  town  like  Julias-Bethsaida,  there  can  be  no 
question.  We  must  then  begin  by  not  translating  the  ordinary  text  as  it  is 
written,  or  interpolating  and  transforming,  as  some  early  copyists  have 
done:  els  roirov  eprtfiov  irJAewj  KaKovfj-ff-ns,  "  toward  a  desert  place  near  the  town 
called  Bethsaida."  Is  it  not  better  to  accept  the  reading  of  Sinaiticus  and 
suppress  all  mention  of  Bethsaida  ?  To  say  that  St.  Luke  was  imperfectly 
informed  since  he  seemed  to  be  unaware  that  the  journey  was  made  in  a 
ship,  which  caused  him  to  say  nothing  of  the  return,  and  of  Jesus  walking 
on  the  waters,  seems  even  less  reasonable  than  to  change  the  text.  In  any 
ease,  when  we  suppress  the  word  "  Bethsaida,"  we  may  locate  the  desert  spot 
where  the  crowd  was  miraculously  fed,  where  we  mil,  on  the  shore  of  the 
lake,  which  would  not  be  that  of  Genesareth  because  it  is  in  crossing  the  lake 
(SiairepdixavTes),  that  we  enter  into  the  environs  of  Capharuaum.  Although 
the  country  was  not  open  to  Jesus,  as  we  have  seen  after  the  healing  of  the 
demoniacs  of  Gergesa,  the  coast  exactly  opposite  to  Genesareth  and  to  those 
places  which  belonged  to  the  district  of  Julias-Bethsaida  has  been  suggested. 
To  this  hypothesis  there  is  a  serious  objection.  It  is  that  in  no  way  can  these 
parts  be  likened  to  a  desert;  and  the  plain  which  extends  around  the  ruins 
of  Et-Tell.  El-]Mes'adieh,  or  El-Aradj,  the  three  sites  on  which  Bethsaida 
is  placed,  will  appear  the  exact  opposite  of  a  desert  to  those  who,  like  our- 
selves, have  visited  it.  No  doubt  the  desert,  as  spoken  of  in  the  Bible,  does 
not  always  mean  a  place  devoid  of  vegetation,  since  flocks  and  herds  were 
made  to  graze  on  it,  but  the  vegetation  found  there  is  poor  and  wild  and 
uncultivable  by  the  hand  of  man.  But  there  are  few  lands  more  fertile, 
better  watered,  and  more  thickly  inhabited  than  the  present  Buttaiah.  We 
must,  in  order  to  find  thereabouts  wild  and  solitary  places,  either  ascend  to 
the  north-east  of  Et-Tell  (and  then  we  are  no  longer  on  the  shore  of  the 
lake),  or  descend  to  Ouadi  Semak,  where,  in  fact,  are  some  almost  barren 
elevations;  but  these  heights  would  be  too  far  off  to  have  the  name  of  the 
desert  of  Bethsaida. 

It  would  be  more  natural,  perhaps,  to  seek  the  solitary  spot,  mentioned 

[90] 


BOOK  II]  JESUS  MULTIPLIES  BREAD 

Jesus  had  time  to  remain  awhile  alone  with  His  Apostles,* 
and  that  the  multitudes  only  arrived  later.  They  were 
more  numerous  than  ever,  and  the  group  of  friends  or 
sight-seers  who  had  come  from  the  western  shore  had  grown 

by  the  Evangelists,  near  the  only  Bethsaida  they  seem  to  have  known, 
in  the  truly  wild  and  rocky  mountains  to  the  north-east  of  Tell-Hima. 
Nothing  can  be  more  desolate  than  this  line  of  hills  entirely  covered  with 
black  stones.  Why,  in  truth,  should  Jesus,  on  leaving  Genesareth,  go 
far  in  search  of  a  solitary  place,  when  He  could  find  one  fifteen  or  twenty 
kilometres  away  and  almost  on  the  shore  of  the  lake  ?  Here  we  can  under- 
stand how  the  multitude  could  follow  Him  on  foot,  although  He  Him- 
self was  in  the  boat,  and  how  they  increased  in  mmabers  in  passing  through 
the  little  villages  along  the  shore.  One  difficulty  that  has  been  suggested 
by  the  order  given  to  the  disciples  to  go  to  Bethsaida  to  await  Him,  is  really 
imaginary.  On  the  contrary,  nothing  is  more  natural  than  that  the  Master 
should  have  given  this  order,  if  we  keep  in  view  His  real  purpose.  He  wished 
the  Apostles  to  pretend  to  depart  without  Him,  to  get  into  the  open  lake,  to 
await  Him  near  Bethsaida,  that  is,  at  a  little  distance  from  where  they  then 
stood.  This  observation  seems  to  us  so  reasonable,  that  if  one  should  wish 
to  look  for  the  exact  scene  of  the  multiplication  of  the  loaves  and  fishes  on 
the  eastern  side  of  the  lake,  it  would  be  logically  necessary  to  apply  to 
Julias  what  is  said  in  St.  Mark  vi,  45>  of  Bethsaida.  The  country  of  Peter 
and  Andrew  would  have  been  too  far  for  a  rendezvous.  When  one  has  a 
distance  of  forty  kilometres  to  traverse,  and  wishes  merely  to  simulate  a 
separation  for  the  time  being,  he  does  not  put  off  to  the  thirty-fifth  the 
moment  of  reunion.  Besides,  if  one  leaves  Abou-Zeineh  or  Ouadi  Semak 
to  go  to  Genesareth,  he  is  always  supposed  to  cross  the  lake,  not  in  the 
same  direction,  but  at  an  almost  equal  distance;  and  here  again  the  text 
offers  no  difficulty.  As  a  matter  of  fact  we  cannot  argue  this  matter  to  any 
advantage,  unless  we  have  actually  visited  the  places  in  question. 

According  to  our  view  of  the  matter,  Bethsaida  Julias  has  no  connection 
with  this  account  of  the  Evangelists  unless  the  multiplication  of  loaves  took 
place  near  Ouadi  Semak,  which  is  improbable  because  the  place  is  too  far 
from  the  two  Bethsaidas,  whereas  if  this  were  the  case  we  would  have  to 
admit  that  the  neighbourhood  of  Julias  was  the  meeting-place  appointed 
by  Jesus.  But  if,  as  we  think,  this  multiplication  took  place  to  the  north- 
east of  Tell-Hum,  the  ancient  and  real  Bethsaida,  the  crowd  must  have 
been  gathered  at  the  foot  of  the  hills  which  descend  toward  Abou-Zeineh, 
and  the  Apostles  received  the  order  to  put  out  into  the  deep  as  though  they 
were  departing,  whereas  in  reality  they  were  to  await  the  Master  five  kilo- 
metres away  near  Bethsaida.  This  explanation  would  also  fit  in  with  the 
puzzling  text  of  St.  Luke,  for  Jesus  would  really  have  gone  toward  Beth- 
saida in  order  to  avoid  the  crowds,  and  would  have  been  overtaken  by 
them  on  the  neighbouring  mountains. 

*  He  represents  the  INIaster  seated  on  the  mountain  (endBriTo)  when  the 
crowds  arrived.  In  this  case,  we  must  understand  the  word  i^f\6ii)v  in 
the  Synoptics  as  indicating  not  Jesus'  leaving  the  boat,  but  His  coming 
forth  from  His  retreat  and  approaching  the  people. 

[91] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

wonderfully  on  the  way.  They  were  preparing  in  many 
places  to  start  for  the  Paschal  festivities,  and  it  was 
enough  to  make  known,  in  the  towns  and  villages  through 
which  they  passed,  their  project  of  proclaiming  Jesus 
Messiah-King  and  their  hope  of  forcing  Him  to  under- 
take the  leadership  of  a  vast  national  uprising,  in  order  to 
attract  the  pilgrims.  The  Galileans  were  of  patriotic 
fibre  and  deeply  religious ;  and  it  is  not  surprising  that 
every  one  was  eager  to  take  part  in  the  popular  movement, 
the  result  of  which  would  be  the  restoration  of  Israel. 

The  sight  of  this  immense  and  interesting  flock,  thus 
seeking  its  Shepherd  in  the  desert,  excited  Jesus'  com- 
passion. Instead  of  going  to  rest,  He  stood  before  the 
people,  welcomed  them  kindly,  and  began  at  once  to  in- 
struct them.  He  spoke  long  and  particularly  of  the  King- 
dom of  God  as  it  ought  to  be  understood,  and  then  healed 
the  sick  that  were  brought  before  Him.  The  hours  went 
rapidly  by  under  the  charm  of  His  consoling  and  beloved 
words.  It  was  near  the  close  of  day.  The  Apostles,  com- 
ing to  Our  Lord,  said :  "This  is  a  desert  place  and  the  hour 
is  now  passed.  Send  away  the  multitudes,  that  going  into 
the  towns  the}"^  niay  buy  themselves  victuals."  But  Jesus 
replied :  "They  have  no  need  to  go ;  give  you  them  to  eat." 
Then  in  a  tone  of  loving  irony  that  revealed  their  familiar 
relations  with  the  Master,  the  Apostles  responded:  "Let 
us  go  and  buy  bread  for  two  hundred  pence,^  and  we  will 
give  them  to  eat."  This  was  probably  more  than  their 
treasury  contained.  Jesus  smiled  at  their  anxiety.  He 
knew  a  way  of  feeding  this  multitude  at  less  expense.  In 
order  to  make  more  manifest  the  great  miracle  He  was 
about  to  accomplish,  or,  perhaps,  to  test  the  charity  of 

^  The  Roman  denarius  was  worth  about  seventeen  cents.  Hence  here  it 
was  a  question  of  expending  thirty-four  dollars;  and  this  was  exorbitant 
considering  the  resources  which  the  Apostles  had  at  hand. 

[92] 


BOOK  II]  JESUS   MULTIPLIES   BREAD 

His  disciples  who  found  it  difficult  to  part  with  their 
last  resources,  He  again  spoke  to  one  of  them,  Philip,  as 
if  appealing  to  the  practical  mind  and  to  the  experience 
of  an  Apostle  who,  since  he  was  of  Bethsaida,  ought  to 
know  the  country :  "Where  shall  we  buy  bread,  that  these 
may  eat  ?"  Philip  repeated  the  response  of  his  colleagues, 
and,  like  a  man  who  understood  the  matter  in  hand,  he 
declared  that,  even  though  they  were  to  take  the  two  hun- 
dred penny-worth  of  bread  proposed,  there  would  not  yet 
be  food  enough  to  enable  each  one  to  have  a  moderate  share. 
Finally  Jesus  says:  "How  many  loaves  have  you?  Go 
and  see."  By  ascertaining  that  no  one  had  anything  with 
him.  He  employed  the  best  means  of  proving  afterward 
that  He  alone  had  provided  nourishment  for  all  present. 

In  their  journey  around  the  lake  the  crowds  had  but 
one  thought,  that  of  rejoining  Jesus.  The  impatience  of 
the  soul  makes  one  forget  the  needs  of  the  body.  Among 
all  these  people  were  found  only  five  loaves  of  barley  and 
two  fishes.^  A  boy  was  carrying  them.  The  ready  in- 
formation that  Andrew,  the  usual  companion  of  Philip, 
gives  to  this  effect  shows  that  they  had  already  been  con- 
sidering the  matter.  But  what  were  these  for  so  many.f* 
Still,  Jesus  had  them  brought  to  Him.  Then  He  bade 
them  to  divide  the  multitude  into  groups  of  fifty  or  of 
a  hundred  persons,  and  these  groups,  drawn  out  in  equal 
lines  along  the  hillside,  seated  themselves  on  the  carpet 
of  green  that  spring  had  provided.  The  grass,  indeed, 
was  already  high,  as  it  was  near  the  time  of  the  Paschal 
feast. 

This  chronological  observation,  which  St.  John  inserts 


'  The  lower  classes  for  the  most  part  ate  barley  bread.  (II  Kings  vi,  1 0 , 
x^^,  1 ;  etc.)  The  fishes  mentioned  here  were  baked  or  salted.  St.  John 
calls  them  oy^ipia  in  the  language  of  the  fishermen,  who  made  salt  fish  their 
ordinary  food. 


[93] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

In  his  narrative  quite  casually,  as  it  were,  throws  a  special 
light  upon  the  great  miracle  of  the  multiplication  of  the 
loaves.  At  the  very  time  when  the  Pharisees  and  the  hie- 
rarchical party  were  making  a  display  in  Jerusalem  of 
their  vain  and  hypocritical  piety  in  His  Father's  house. 
He  was  in  hiding  in  the  desert  place,  not  daring  to  enter 
the  Holy  City,  through  fear  of  arousing  prematurely  the 
implacable  hatred  of  His  enemies.  The  crowd  that  has 
followed  Him  suffers  from  hunger,  while  all  Israel  is  eat- 
ing of  the  Paschal  Lamb  under  the  eyes  of  the  Levitical 
priesthood.  His  heart  is  moved  at  the  thought,  and  His 
sovereign  power  determines  to  inaugurate  the  feasts  of 
the  new  religion,  preluding  thus  the  institution  of  the 
great  Passover,  which  is  to  be  the  joy  of  the  future.  The 
order  He  provides  for  in  this  vast  and  picturesque  ban- 
quet discloses  to  us  His  intention  of  inviting  this  multi- 
tude to  a  kind  of  religious  repast. 

Standing  over  the  assembly,  like  a  father  in  the  midst 
of  his  family  during  the  Paschal  festival.  He  took  the 
loaves,  blessed  them,  and  raised  His  eyes  to  heaven,  giving 
thanks  to  God.^  Tliis  was  the  solemn  moment  in  which 
the  miracle  was  being  accomplished.  Suddenly  the  bless- 
ing effected  in  His  hands  what  it  effects  by  slow  and  suc- 
cessive development  in  the  bosom  of  the  earth,  when  the 
harvest  grows,  with  this  difference  that  now  it  brings 
forth  not  the  wheat,  but  the  bread  itself  wliich  is  but  a 
later  transformation  of  the  wheat.  The  one  was  no  more 
difficult  than  the  other  to  the  Master  of  nature.  He 
Who  creates  matter  in  all  its  various  forms  can,  when  He 
desires,  create  it  directly  in  its  final  form.     Jesus  began 

^  St.  John  uses  the  word  evxapia-ritffas  perhaps  as  if  to  say  that  here  was  a 
presage  of  the  future  eucharistic  consecration.  Probably  St.  Luke  had 
the  same  thought  in  saying  that  Jesus  blessed  the  loaves  {tv\6yr)(rev  aiirovs). 
(Comp.  /  Cor.  x,  16.)  This  attitude  of  Jesus  had  profoundly  impressed  the 
multitude,  and  the  four  Evangelists  purposely  make  note  of  it. 

[94] 


BooKii]  JESUS   MULTIPLIES   BREAD 

to  break  the  loaves  and  to  apportion  the  fishes.  His  gen- 
erous hand,  unwearied,  gave  out  the  shares  which,  indefi- 
nitely renewed,  passed  from  the  Apostles  to  the  multitude, 
until  all  had  eaten  and  Avere  satisfied.  Now  they  num- 
bered five  thousand  men,  not  counting  the  women  or  the 
children  who,  following  the  Oriental  custom,  had  to  remain 
apart  to  take  their  repast. 

When  they  had  finished,  Our  Lord  bade  them  gather 
up  what  was  left.  It  was  becoming  that  what  God  had 
just  given  them  by  a  miracle  should  not  be  left  to  perish. 
Twelve  baskets  full  of  bread  ®  and  many  fragments  of 
fish  proved  that  the  multitude  had  found  there  in  the 
desert  a  superabundant  meal,  without  having  recourse  to 
Philip's  two  hundred  pence.  There  could  be  no  doubt  that 
He  Who  had  thus  royally  entertained  them  was  more  than 
man,  and  they  cried  out :  "This  is,  of  a  truth,  the  prophet 
that  is  to  come  into  the  world."  Who,  then,  was  more 
worthy  than  He  to  govern  the  people  for  whom  He  was 
so  well  able  to  provide  subsistence  ?  They  were  seized  with 
the  thought  of  proclaiming  Him  king  by  main  force  ^ 
even,  and  to  proceed,  perhaps,  to  have  Him  crowned  in 
Jerusalem.  It  is  certain  that  He  Who  by  opening  His 
hand  could  so  easily  let  fall  rations  for  His  troops,  was 
well  able  to  raise  a  numerous  arm}'^  and  to  march  on  to 
the  surest  triumph.  Why  delay  longer  the  realisation 
of  the  national  hopes.?  With  singular  self-conceit,  these 
good  people,  forgetting  the  true  character  of  the  Messiah- 
King  and  the  thoroughly  spiritual  conditions  of  His  King- 
dom, were  desirous  of  a  culmination.      Jesus  knew  their 

'  These  were  probably  the  twelve  travelh'ng-baskets  of  the  Apostles.  A 
Jew  never  journeyed  without  the  basket  in  which  he  kept  his  eatables; 
hence  Juvenal's  line:  "Quorum  cophinus  fcrnumque  supellex"  (Sat.,  iii,  15), 
and  the  epithet  cistiferos  applied  by  Martial  to  the  sons  of  Israel  (Epig., 
V,  17). 

°  The  verb  apirdCeiv  sufficiently  indicates  this. 

[95] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [pakt  second 

thoughts,  and,  unable  to  dispel  their  illusions,  He  fled  to 
the  mountain  for  recollection  and  for  prayer. 

The  night  was  passed,  as  well  as  a  portion  of  the  next 
day,  in  this  semi-political  deliberation.^^  The  popular 
excitement  was  not  calmed.  There  was  even  a  danger  of 
gaining  over  the  Apostles.  For  they  were  only  too  ready 
to  look  for  the  inauguration  of  an  earthly  kingdom,  and 
for  a  long  time  to  come  we  shall  see  them  dreaming  of  a 
warlike  Messiah,  enforcing  His  rule  with  violence,  and,  on 
the  day  following  His  victory,  distributing  to  His  favour- 
ites the  first  dignities  of  His  empire.  This  was  the  first 
time  they  had  beheld  a  multitude  of  five  thousand  enthusi- 
astic and  excited  men  around  the  Master.  They  had  only 
to  procure  His  assent,  and  He  was  proclaimed  King  of 
Israel.  Their  ambitious  aspirations  could  desire  no  bet- 
ter opportunity  for  success.  Hence  they  readily  shared, 
if  they  did  not  also  foment,^  ^  the  illusions  and  the  extrava- 
gant boldness  of  the  multitude.  Delaying  not  another 
day,  Jesus  determined  to  remove  them  and  to  remain  alone 
with  the  multitudes.  He  intended  to  dismiss  them  also, 
but  only  after  He  had  made  them  listen  to  reason. 

Employing  His  authority,^  ^  therefore.  He  obliged  the 
Apostles  to  enter  their  boat  and  to  push  out  upon  the 
deep,  as  if  they  were  departing  for  good.  In  reality,  they 
had  received  instructions  to  take  their  stand  near  by  and 
to  await  Him  in  sight  of  Bethsaida.^^     Obedience  on  this 

>"  In  St.  Matt,  xiv,  15  and  23,  two  evenings  are  clearly  marked  out. 

"  St.  John  vi,  70,  71,  seems  to  indicate  at  least  the  connivance  of  Judas. 
Comp.  also  V.  66. 

'^ The  Evangelists  clearly  say  so;  rivayKacrep     .     .     .     ffx0rjvat. 

''  As  we  have  before  observed,  wherever  we  locate  the  scene  of  the  miracle 
of  the  loaves  and  fishes,  we  must  understand  that  Jesus  arranged  to  meet 
His  Apostles  a  short  distance  away.  It  was  not  in  order  that  He  might 
Himself  make  the  journey  on  foot  to  Capharnaum  that  He  sent  them  away, 
but  to  separate  them  from  the  crowds,  who,  with  their  ideas  of  an  earthly 
Messiah,  were  gaining  an  influence  over  them.  At  the  same  time  He  leaves 
the  multitude  under  the  impression  that  He  is  not  going  to  depart.    Bethsaida 

[96] 


BooKii]  JESUS  MULTIPLIES   BREAD 

occasion  must  have  been  painful  to  them.  Once  alone, 
Jesus  sought  no  doubt  to  persuade  the  people  that  they 
must  seek  shelter  for  the  night.  They,  yielding  to  His 
^  paternal  advice  and  thinking  to  find  Him  again  the  next 
I  day,  consented  to  withdraw.  The  sun  had  disappeared 
below  the  horizon,  and  the  weather  was  unfavourable. 

But  while  they  supposed  that  the  Master  was  at  prayer, 
and  were  respecting  His  solitude,  He  was  hastening  toward 
Bethsaida,^^  to  rejoin  His  disciples,  as  He  had  promised. 
The  latter,  though  they  had  long  since  reached  the  point 
fixed  as  the  place  of  reunion,  were  making  vain  efforts  to 
land.  The  gale  of  the  tempest  that  was  violently  raging 
drove  them  back  again  and  again  to  the  middle  of  the 
lake.  A  part  of  the  night  was  passed  in  this  useless 
labour.  They  were  retreating  instead  of  advancing. 
Already  the  third  watch  had  passed.^  ^  Jesus,  if  He  had 
continued  on  His  way,  must  have  arrived  at  Capharnaum.^® 
This  thought,  as  well  as  the  danger  there  was  in  strug- 
gling  against   the   north-east   winds,   made   the   Apostles 

is  certainly  near  at  hand,  and  thus  Jesus  names  it  as  a  rendezvous.  It  is 
incredible  that,  wishing  to  go  from  the  south  of  Buttai'ah  to  Capharnaimi. 
He  should  say  to  them :  "  Go  and  wait  for  me  at  five  kilometres  from  Caphar- 
naimi. I  will  walk  thirty-five  during  the  night,  and  cross  the  ford  over  the 
Jordan,  to  rejoin  you."  This  is  against  all  reason,  and  by  Betlisaida  we  must 
miderstand  the  nearest  port,  whitlier  Jesus  betook  Himself  at  nightfall,  and 
where  He  rejoined  His  disciples.  We  may  note  that  Jolm  does  not  mention 
'  this  meeting  appointed  by  Jesus,  but  he  supposes  it,  as  otherwise  we  could 
not  explain  why  the  disciples  had  departed  witliout  their  Master,  much  less 
why  they  expected  Him  to  rejoin  them  (verse  7) . 

'*  We  must  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  tlie  various  places  on  the  shores  of 
the  lake  are  not  at  a  great  distance  from  each  other.  It  was  not  therefore 
to  avoid  the  fatigue  of  going  on  foot  that  Jesus  wished  to  rejoin  those  in  the 
boat,  but  to  be  at  peace  far  from  the  multitude  and  to  be  with  His  chosen 
ones. 

'^  At  this  epoch,  the  Jews,  like  the  Romans  and  the  Greeks,  divided  tlie 
night  into  four  watches.  The  length  of  each,  which  should  have  been  three 
hours,  became  longer  or  shorter,  according  to  tlie  season  of  the  year.  St. 
Mark  xiii,  35,  clearly  distinguishes  these  four  parts  of  the  night :  6\f/e,  fietro- 
vvKTiov,  a\eKTopo(pwvlas  irpait 

''  If  our  hypothesis  as  to  the  place  of  the  miracle  be  well  founded.  He  had 
only  to  descend  by  the  western  side  of  the  mountain  to  reach  Bethsaida. 

[97] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

decide  to  set  sail  at  once  for  the  final  destination  of  their 
journey.  Any  halt  on  the  way  seemed  as  impossible  as 
it  was  unnecessary.  In  the  midst  of  the  terrible  squall, 
they  were  particularly  eager  to  land  at  any  point.  At 
three  o'clock  in  the  morning  they  had  covered  a  distance 
of  only  twenty-five  or  thirty  furlongs  from  the  shore. 

Jesus  knew  their  distress  and  had  pity  on  them.  As 
all  things  were  easy  to  the  Lord  of  the  elements,  He  ad- 
vanced straight  to  them  who,  notwithstanding  their  good- 
will, had  been  unable  to  come  to  Him.  What  Job  had 
said  of  God,  He  fulfilled,  and,  stepping  from  the  solid 
ground  upon  the  liquid  plain.  He  walked  upon  the  waves 
as  upon  a  floor. ^''^  Reaching  the  boat.  He  went  ahead  of 
it  in  the  attitude  of  one  who  would  mark  out  its  way 
to  Capharnaum.^^  When,  in  the  middle  of  the  night, 
between  the  waves  as  they  hurled  themselves  upon  one 
another,  the  Apostles  perceived  a  human  outline  upright 
upon  the  water,  they  uttered  cries  of  terror,  believing 
they  were  in  the  presence  of  a  phantom.  Jesus  came 
nearer,  that  He  might  be  kno^vn.  Their  fright  only 
increased  the  more.  Then,  in  order  completely  to  reassure 
them.  He  said:  "It  is  I;  be  not  afraid."  At  the  sound 
of  the  well-known  voice,  the  Apostles  took  courage  at  once, 
and  multiplied  their  efforts  to  reach  Him  as  He  seemed 
to  flee  before  them.-^^  They  were  eager  to  take  Him  Into 
the  boat.  But  He  kept  on  ahead.  Surprised  at  this 
strange  sight,  they  were  in  doubt  what  to  think  of  It. 

Then,  Peter  expressing  the  thought  of  all,  cried  out: 
"Lord,  if  it  be   Thou,  bid  me  come  'to  Thee  upon  the 

"  Job  ix,  8. 

'^This  is  the  most  natural  meaning  of  the  words  of  St.  Mark:  1}6€\fp 
irapiKQilv. 

'"Such  seems  to  us  to  be  the  sense  of  St.  John's  expression:  ¥)6€Kov 
\a$e7v,  K.  T.  \.,  which  otherwise  would  create  a  serious  difficulty  for  the 
narration  of  the  Synoptics. 

[98] 


BOOK  II]  JESUS  MULTIPLIES  BREAD 

waters."  He  doubted  not  Jesus'  sovereign  power,  but 
the  reality  of  His  presence.  "Come,"  said  the  Master  to 
him.  And  Peter,  flattered  by  being  associated  in  the 
miracle  that  sustained  Jesus  upon  the  water,  leaps  from 
the  boat  and  walks  upon  the  waves.  The  wind  was  violent. 
The  Apostle,  overcome,  thinks  he  has  lost  his  balance.  He 
begins  to  be  afraid,  he  hesitates,  and  gradually  sinks  in 
the  water.  When  faith  is  shaken,  the  miracle  is  checked. 
Peter  can  walk  no  farther;  he  sets  out  to  swim.  In  the 
meantime,  ahead  of  him,  Our  Lord  stands  straight  and 
firm  in  the  midst  of  the  tempest,  as  if  to  prove  that  faith 
can  withstand  the  elements.  Peter  calls  to  Him  with 
gesture  and  voice :  "Lord,  save  me !"  Then  Jesus,  stretch- 
ing forth  His  hand,  grasps  him  and  lifts  him  up,  saying : 
"O,  thou  of  Httle  faith,  why  didst  thou  doubt.?"  And 
together  they  went  into  the  boat,  which  had  now  come  up 
to  them.  Then  the  waves  were  calmed,  the  winds  were 
stilled,  and  it  was  found  they  had  reached  the  shore  where 
they  were  to  land.  Assuredly  greater  than  that  of  any 
earthly  king  was  the  power  of  Him  Who  thus  commanded 
nature  herself. 

On  the  disciples'  souls  this  miracle  made  even  a  livelier 
impression  than  that  of  the  multiplying  of  the  loaves.  All 
who  were  in  the  boat  fell  on  their  knees  before  the  Master. 
Their  faces  pressed  to  the  ground,  they  exclaimed:  "In- 
deed Thou  art  the  Son  of  God !" 

They  had  disembarked,  not  at  Capharnaum,  but  in  its 
neighbourhood.  This  is  what  the  Evangelists  mean  by 
naming  the  land  of  Genesareth.  There  again  the  in- 
habitants asked  for  and  obtained  many  miracles.  The 
Saviour,  with  inexhaustible  kindness,  healed  all  their  sick 
and  gave  consolation  to  the  afilicted. 


[99] 


CHAPTER    III 
DISCOURSE   ON  THE  BREAD  OF  LIFE 

The  Partisans  of  a  Political  Messiah  Rejoin  Jesus 
AT  Capharnaum  —  Jesus  Rejects  Their  Earthly 
Views — How  He  Understands  His  Royalty — He  Is 
the  Bread  of  Life  for  Those  Whom  the  Father 
Brings  to  Him — He  Desires  that  Man  Shall  Re- 
ceive Not  Only  His  Doctrine,  but  Also  His  Flesh 
AND  His  Blood,  Which  Are  to  Be  Offered  for  the 
Life  of  the  World — The  Meaning  of  the  Offer- 
ing— Perfect  Communion — Dissension  Among  the 
Adherents  of  Jesus — Peter's  Response — Hypocrit- 
ical Silence  of  Judas.     (St.  John  vi,  22-71.) 

In  the  meantime  the  party  of  zealots,  who  were  eager 
for  the  proclamation  of  the  Messianic  Kingdom,  had  re- 
appeared on  the  following  day  in  the  desert  of  Bethsaida, 
in  the  hope  of  again  finding  Jesus.  Their  disappoint- 
ment was  great  when  they  learned  that  He  had  departed. 
Boats  that  had  arrived  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Tibe- 
rias might  have  brought  them  definite  tidings,  and  might 
have  assured  them  that  He  had  been  seen  on  the  opposite 
shore.  It  may  be  that  these  boats  had  been  sent  to  bring 
this  information  and  to  fetch  back  to  Capharnaum  the 
leaders  in  the  popular  agitation.  It  is  quite  possible,  in- 
deed, that  these  latter  may  have  had  some  understanding 

[100] 


BOOK  II]  THE   BREAD  OF  LIFE 

even  within  the  ApostoHc  circle  itself.  Have  we  not  seen 
how  Jesus'  disciples  shared  with  the  multitude  the  de- 
sire of  transforming  the  Messiah  into  an  earthly  king? 
Would  not  the  worldly  and  selfish  soul  of  a  Judas  seek 
with  impatience  every  opportunity  to  hasten  events  in 
order  the  sooner  to  enjoy  the  material  results  he  expected 
therefrom?  Later  on,  under  the  influence  of  analogous 
sentiments,  he  connives  no  longer  with  the  friends,  but 
with  the  very  enemies  of  Jesus. 

However  that  may  be,  the  boats  from  Tiberias  arrived 
most  opportunely  to  carry  to  the  other  side  those  who 
wished  to  rejoin  Jesus  without  delay,  and  to  bring  the 
group  of  revolutionists  again  around  Him.  When  these 
enthusiasts  discovered  Him,  in  the  synagogue  of  Caphar- 
naum,  they  approached  Him  with  unfeigned  eagerness. 
"Rabbi,"  they  said,  "how  and  when  camest  Thou  hither?" 
To  find  Him  again  was  to  recover  all  their  worldly  hopes. 
Jesus  knew  it  well,  and,  instead  of  replying  to  their  ques- 
tion. He  rebuked  the  intention  that  dictated  it:  "Amen, 
amen,  I  say  to  you,  ye  seek  Me,  not  because  ye  have  seen 
miracles,  but  because  ye  did  eat  of  the  loaves,  and  were 
filled.  Labour  not  for  the  meat  which  perisheth,  but  for 
that  which  endureth  unto  life  everlasting,  which  the  Son 
of  Man  will  give  you.  For  Him  hath  God  the  Father 
sealed."  The  lesson  was  direct.  These  ambitious  agitators 
with  their  deep-felt  longings  are  mistaken  in  seeking  in 
Jesus  the  Thaumaturgus  Who  will  feed  His  partisans,  in- 
stead of  the  Teacher  Who  seeks  to  instruct  His  disciples. 
To  ask  of  the  Messiah  barley-bread,  when  He  off^ers  moral 
life;  to  wish  to  make  Him  King  of  the  earth,  when  He  is 
King  of  Heaven,  is  to  mistake  His  august  character  and 
to  suppress  His  true  grandeur.  Like  fools  they  have 
regard  only  to  the  body  which  is  to  be  fed,  to  the  earthly 
man  who  is  to  be  satisfied,  and  as  for  the  loftier,  the  spir- 

[  101  ] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

itual,  the  divine  side  of  man,  they  have  no  suspicion  of  it. 
It  is  a  wof ul  case ;  for  the  Son  of  Man  has  not  been  chosen, 
marked,  and  consecrated  by  His  Father  for  the  vulgar 
mission  of  founding  a  pohtical  kingdom;  He  has  been 
sent  to  estabhsh  the  great  society  of  souls  and  to  lay  the 
foundation  of  the  spiritual  city  of  the  children  of  God. 

But  the  people  made  answer:  "What  shall  we  do  that 
we  may  work  the  works  of  God  .'^"  With  all  their  devotion 
to  the  Messianic  cause  they  are  astonished  that  they  are 
not  a  part  of  the  religious  work  that  Jesus  wishes  to 
found.  "This  is  the  work  of  God,"  replies  Jesus,  "that 
ye  believe  in  Him  Whom  He  hath  sent."  God  demands 
not  partisans  who  will  combat,  but  faithful  hearts  who 
will  believe.  Faith  is  the  work  He  expects  from  men.  In 
His  sight  they  can  do  nothing  greater  or  more  necessary : 
nothing  greater,  since  faith  is  the  complete  gift  of  one's 
self  in  the  humiliation  of  the  mind  and  in  the  sacrifice  of 
the  heart;  nothing  more  necessary,  since  it  is  by  faith 
alone,  uniting  our  souls  to  Jesus  Christ,  that  we  are  incor- 
porated in  the  Messianic  Kingdom. 

In  the  synagogue,  as  in  every  public  assembly,  there 
were  hearers  of  various  dispositions.  Besides  those  who 
had  witnessed  the  multiplication  of  the  loaves,  and  who 
were  eager  to  learn  of  Jesus  His  real  intentions,  there  were 
jealous  Pharisees,  incredulous  teachers,  who  became  indig- 
nant when  they  heard  the  youthful  Prophet  put  Himself 
forward  resolutely  as  the  object  of  the  faith  of  mankind. 
"What  sign,  therefore,  dost  Thou  show,"  they  said  to 
Him  sharply,  "that  we  may  see  and  may  believe  in  Thee.^ 
What  dost  Thou  work  ?  Our  fathers  did  eat  manna  in  the 
desert,  as  it  is  written.  He  gave  them  bread  from  heaven 
to  eat.^^  ^  This  was  a  malicious  effort  to  turn  to  their  own 
profit  the  blame  that  Jesus  had  laid  upon  the  people,  and 

*  Ps.  Ixxvii,  24,  25 ;  Exod.  xvi,  4  and  15. 
[102] 


BOOK  II]  THE   BREAD   OF  LIFE 

His  refusal  to  continue  to  nourish  them  by  a  miracle.  If 
He  is  the  Messiah,  let  Him  prove  it  by  doing  each  day  in 
the  sight  of  all,  that  which  He  had  already  once  done,  in 
the  desert.  Moses  acknowledged  himself  inferior  to  the 
Messiah,  and  yet  he  had  nourished,  not  five  thousand  peo- 
ple on  a  single  occasion,  but  the  entire  people  during  forty 
3"ears,  and  that,  too,  not  with  barley-bread,  but  with  bread 
from  heaven.  Jesus,  taking  up  the  comparison  they  have 
made,  says  to  them :  "Amen,  amen,  I  say  to  you ;  Moses 
gave  you  not  bread  from  heaven,  but  My  Father  giveth 
you  the  true  bread  from  heaven.  For  the  bread  of  God 
is  that  which  cometh  down  from  heaven,  and  giveth  life 
to  the  world."  Thus  let  there  be  no  equivocation ;  the 
bread  of  which  Jesus  speaks  is  not  that  of  which  His  ques- 
tioners speak.  They  refer  to  a  miraculous  but  material 
manna ;  He,  in  these  ambiguous  words,  means  to  convey 
that  He  Himself  is  a  spiritual  bread  that  is  come  down 
from  heaven,  and  that  it  is  through  Him  and  by  Him  that 
the  world  is  to  live. 

If  Jesus  is  not  really  God,  nothing  can  be  more  astound- 
ing, more  unheard  of,  more  inexplicable  than  this  assertion 
and  the  whole  discourse  that  follows.  For,  after  all,  where 
could  He  have  derived  so  certain  and  so  perfect  a  knowl- 
edge of  His  future  part  in  the  history  of  mankind  .f*  It 
cannot  be  denied,  in  truth,  that  for  nineteen  centuries  the 
world  has  asked  life  from  Him,  and  that  by  Him  as  by  an 
inexhaustible  and  ever-refreshing  store  of  bread  the  world 
has  been  visibly  nourished,  through  the  assimilation  of  His 
thoughts.  His  morality,  and  His  virtues. 

His  beautiful  response  is  too  sublime  for  even  the  most 
favourably  disposed  portion  of  His  audience  to  compre- 
hend. All  that  these  ignorant  Jews  understand  is  that  He 
is  talking  of  a  miraculous  bread  which  is  as  material,  how- 
ever, as  the  bread  of  the  desert.     With  a  simplicity  that 

[103] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [pabt  second 

recalls  that  of  the  woman  of  Samaria,  they  declare  that  they 
are  ready  to  be  satisfied  with  it,  and  to  follow  Him  Who  will 
give  it,  wherever  He  may  lead.  "Lord,"  they  say,  "give  us 
always  this  bread."  At  this  point  Jesus,  resolutely  remov- 
ing the  veil  with  which  He  had  cloaked  His  thought,  puts 
an  end  to  all  misunderstanding  at  the  risk  of  breaking 
with  His  most  devoted  followers :  "/  am  the  bread  of  life!" 
He  exclaims ;  "he  that  cometh  to  Me  shall  not  hunger ;  and 
he  that  believeth  in  Me  shall  never  thirst."  They  need 
look  no  farther;  the  food  which  at  the  same  time  is  and 
gives  real  life  is  Himself  come  down  from  heaven,  He  Who 
being  alive  in  God  from  all  eternity,  is  come  upon  earth 
and  is  become  incarnate  in  order  to  be  the  life  of  man. 
Man,  therefore,  has  only  to  take,  by  an  act  of  faith,  and 
assimilate  this  divine  food  from  heaven,  and  he  will  no 
longer  feel  either  hunger  or  thirst  in  his  soul.  Unfortu- 
nately, though  invited  to  this  incredible  communion,  he 
hesitates  to  eat  what  would  give  him  life.  This  thought 
saddens  Jesus.  "But  I  said  unto  you,  that  ye  also  have 
seen  Me,  and  ye  believe  not."  This  is  a  formal  condemna- 
tion of  a  great  number  of  His  hearers.  They  have  seen 
His  works,  have  heard  His  discourses,  yet  they  have  not 
made  the  act  of  faith  which  would  have  brought  them  life. 
Will  all  mankind  follow  their  example  ?  Assuredly  not ; 
this  would  be  contrary  to  God's  plan.  Jesus,  Who  seems 
to  have  been  for  a  moment  in  silent  thought,  casts  a  sudden 
glance  into  the  future,  and  His  heart  is  reassured.  "All 
that  My  Father  giveth  Me,"  He  says,  "shall  come  to  Me, 
and  him  that  cometh  to  Me,  I  will  not  cast  out ;  because  I 
am  come  down  from  heaven,  not  to  do  My  own  will,  but  the 
will  of  Him  that  sent  Me.  Now  this  is  the  will  of  the 
Father  Who  sent  Me,  that  of  all  that  He  hath  given  Me  I 
should  lose  nothing,  but  should  raise  it  up  again  in  the 
last  day.    And  this  is  the  will  of  My  Father  that  sent  Me : 

[104] 


BooKH]  THE  BREAD  OF  LIFE 

that  every  one  who  seeth  the  Son,  and  beheveth  in  Him,  may 
have  hfe  everlasting,  and  I  will  raise  him  up  in  the  last 
day."  Inevitably  men  shall  rise  up  who  will  desire  to 
assimilate  the  divine  life  placed  at  their  disposal.  But, 
come  they  whence  they  may,  even  from  among  the  vilest  of 
the  Gentiles,  they  shall  be  welcomed.  The  bread  of  heaven 
shall  be  given  them.  Not  one  of  those  whom  the  Father 
has  chosen  shall  die  of  hunger ;  in  the  ardour  of  their  faith 
they  shall  all  live  by  that  Jesus  Whom  they  shall  have  con- 
templated, adored,  and  served  with  their  most  generous 
love.  Thus  it  is  that  on  the  last  day  the  multitude  of  the 
elect  shall  rise  up  full  of  life  and  beauty.  Then  the  Son 
shall  place  in  His  Father's  hands  the  flock  that  He  shall 
have  faithfully  guarded,  fed,  and  sanctified. 

These  assertions  touched  the  Jews  on  their  most  sensitive 
side.  It  was  hard  to  learn  that  pagans  might  be  preferred 
before  themselves.  Was  He  Who  spoke  thus  the  true 
Messiah  of  Israel.''  This  fresh  grievance  aggravated  the 
already  strange  pretension  to  be  the  bread  of  life  come 
down  from  heaven,  and  a  long-continued  murmuring  began 
to  be  heard  in  the  assembly.  "Is  not  this  Jesus,"  they 
said,  "the  son  of  Joseph,  whose  father  and  mother  we 
know.?  How  then  saith  He:  I  came  down  from  heaven.''" 
The  Master  makes  no  reply  to  this  objection  which  pru- 
dence forbids  Him  to  answer  directly.  To  disclose  the 
mystery  of  His  divine  conception  would  only  have  intensi- 
fied the  scandal  in  the  eyes  of  His  questioners.  But  with 
that  severe  authority  which  His  words  at  times  assumed, 
He  said  to  them:  "Murmur  not  among  yourselves.  No 
man  can  come  to  Me,  except  the  Father  Who  hath  sent  Me 
draw  him,2  and  I  will  raise  him  up  in  the  last  day.     It  is 

^  The  verb  e\Kvtiv,  which  Jesus  uses,  does  not  imply  the  violent  action  of 
dragging  a  man  against  his  will.  It  signifies  an  impulse  given  to  one  who 
was  at  first  unwilling,  but  who,  in  the  end,  jjermits  himself  to  be  led  on.  The 
very  text  of  Isaias,  which  Jesus  quotes,  indicates  simply  a  persuasive  in- 

[105] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

written  in  the  prophets :  And  they  shall  all  be  taught  of 
God.^  Every  one  that  hath  heard  of  the  Father  and  hath 
learned,  cometh  to  Me.  Not  that  any  man  hath  seen  the 
Father,  but  He  Who  is  of  God,*  He  hath  seen  the  Father." 
The  faithful  are  therefore  first  chosen  by  the  Heavenly 
Father ;  it  is  He  that  opens  their  hearts,  makes  ready  their 
souls,  and,  at  times  by  the  violent  strokes  of  His  mercy, 
at  times  by  the  sweetness  of  His  grace,  leads  them,  con- 
quered but  happy,  to  the  Son.  His  all-powerful  influence 
accomplishes  its  work  amid  the  ordinary  incidents  of  life. 
A  great  grief  that  hurts,  or  a  joy  that  exalts,  a  word  that 
we  read  in  the  Holy  Books,  or  that  we  gather  from  the  lips 
of  a  true  believer,  a  sudden  light  that  dispels  all  doubt, 
all  these  are  the  voice  of  God.  Though  we  have  not  seen 
Him  in  Himself — for  this  is  the  exclusive  privilege  of  His 
only  Son  Who  is  in  His  bosom — we  feel  His  influence,  and, 
moved  by  a  secret  force  which  does  not  destroy  our  liberty, 
but  only  guides  it,  we  are  conducted  to  the  Son.  And 
then  He  begins  His  work:  by  His  doctrine.  He  furnishes 
us  with  the  great  light  of  religion ;  by  His  expiatory  sac- 
rifice, He  restores  us  to  righteousness ;  by  His  contact.  He 
gives  us  life  again.  At  last,  comes  the  third  agent  in  our 
moral  sanctification,  whom  Jesus  will  name  later  on ;  it  is 
the  Holy  Spirit.  It  belongs  to  the  Spirit  to  care  for  the 
converted  soul ;  to  adorn  it  with  His  gifts ;  to  make  it  a 
temple,  wherein  God  shall  be  duly  honoured.  Thus  the 
two  Persons  who  proceed  from  the  Father  bring  back  to 

fluence  of  God  penetrating  a  docile  nature  with  His  grace  and  leading  it 
where  He  will.  The  picture  used  here  seems  to  remind  one  of  the  father  of  a 
family  who  accompanies  his  young  child  to  the  schoolmaster.  The  Father 
leads  men  to  His  Son's  school ;  and  men,  like  children,  seem  to  approach  their 
preceptor  only  with  difficulty.  That  is  why  they  are  drawn,  but  not  with 
violence. 

^  Isa.  liv,  13,  and  Jer.  xxxi,  33,  etc. 

*  After  these  words  of  the  Master,  we  need  not  ask  where  St.  John  found 
the  idea  of  his  prologue :  6  &v  napa  rod  6eov  is  the  exact  counterpart  of  ?iv 
nphs  rbv  de6v.    The  Son  is  of  the  Father  and  wholly  ivith  the  Father. 

[106] 


BooKii]  THE  BREAD  OF  LIFE 

the  Father  those  whom  the  Father  had  chosen,  the  one  by 
enlightening  and  redeeming  them,  the  other  by  complet- 
ing their  sanctification.  Such  is  the  invariable  and  sublime 
history  of  God,  Who  employs  His  power.  His  truth,  and 
His  love  for  His  own  glory  in  the  exercise  of  His 
mercy. 

"Amen,  amen,  I  say  unto  you,"  continues  Jesus,  with 
ever-increasing  energy,  "He  that  believeth  in  Me  hath 
everlasting  life.  I  am  the  bread  of  life!  Your  fathers 
did  eat  manna  in  the  desert  and  are  dead.  This  is  the 
bread  that  cometh  down  from  heaven,  that  if  any  man  eat 
of  it,  he  may  not  die.  I  am  the  living  bread,  which  came 
down  from  heaven.  If  any  man  eat  of  this  bread,  he  shall 
live  forever ;  and  the  bread  that  I  will  give  is  My  flesh  for 
the  hfe  of  the  world."  These  last  words  are  plainly  a 
transition  to  a  new  order  of  ideas.  Besides  the  bread  which 
the  Father  has  given  to  earth,  there  is  the  flesh  which  the 
Son  gives  for  our  resurrection.  As  bread,  Jesus  off'ers  to 
humanity  truth  that  nourishes  the  soul.  As  flesh  and 
blood,  He  creates  in  us  supernatural  Hfe ;  for  it  is  by  His 
sacrifice  that  He  has  accomplished  our  redemption.  Hence 
man,  to  live  a  complete  life,  must  be  incorporated  at  the 
same  time  with  Jesus  the  Teacher  and  with  Jesus  the  Re- 
deemer. The  first  act  is  accomplished  by  faith  which 
unites  us  with  His  thought;  the  second,  by  physical  con- 
tact which  should  join  us  to  His  body  bruised  and  immo- 
lated for  our  salvation.  To  grasp  Christ  in  His  whole 
divine  being,  moral  and  physical — that  is  for  us  the  con- 
dition of  the  religious  life.  The  greater  the  energy  with 
which  man  attaches  himself  to  this  bread,  this  flesh, 
this  blood,  that  are  to  nourish  and  to  sanctify  him,  the 
greater  will  be  the  intensity  of  his  life.  He  must  bring 
God  into  his  own  life,  and,  his  life  being  absorbed  in  the 
divine  life,  there  must  be  henceforth  in  his  enlightened 

[107] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

soul,  in  his  transformed  heart,  in  his  sanctified  flesh,  but 
one  hving  being,  Jesus  Christ. 

These  theories  were  far  beyond  the  capacity  of  an  audi- 
ence which,  taking  them  hterally  and  with  no  thought  of 
discovering  their  purport,  exclaimed  more  violently  than 
a  moment  before:  "How  can  this  man  give  us  his  flesh  to 
eat?"  Their  lack  of  intelligence  cannot  discourage  Jesus. 
On  the  contrary.  He  insists  on  giving  His  words  a  sense 
that  is  more  and  more  literal.  "Amen,  amen,  I  say  to 
you :  Except  ye  eat  the  flesh  of  the  Son  of  Man  and  drink 
His  blood,  ye  shall  not  have  life  in  you.  He  that  eateth 
My  flesh  and  drinketh  My  blood  hath  everlasting  life,  and 
I  will  raise  him  up  the  last  day.  For  My  flesh  is  meat 
indeed,  and  My  blood  is  drink  indeed."  Here,  without  fur- 
ther metaphor,  the  precept  is  imposed  in  all  its  astonish- 
ing reality.  That  the  union  may  be  perfect  and  life  as- 
sured, it  is  not  enough  that  Jesus  be  eaten  in  spirit ;  the 
mouth  itself  must  receive  Him ;  a  real  eating  of  the  victim 
off'ered  for  the  human  race  becomes  necessary.''  But  is  it 
human  flesh  that  must  be  eaten ;  is  it  blood,  yet  warm,  that 
must  be  drunk.?  The  institution  of  the  Eucharist  will  fur- 
nish the  divine  response  to  that  question.  After  the  Last 
Supper,  the  Saviour's  flesh  will  be  really,  not  the  bloody, 
but  the  mystical  food  of  mankind,  and  His  blood,  not  tlie 
repellent,  but  the  consoling  drink  that  is  offered  to  Chris- 
tians under  the  veil  of  the  Sacrament.  And  now  the  last 
word  in  the  divine  plan  tells  us  the  marvellous  results  of 
the  strange  and  heavenly  repast  to  which  Jesus  invites  us. 
"He  that  eateth  My  flesh  and  drinketh  My  blood  abideth 
in  Me  and  I  in  him.  As  the  living  Father  hath  sent  ]\Ie, 
and  I  live  by  the  Father,  so  he  that  eateth  Me,  the  same 

*  Jesus  employs  the  most  expressive  terms  to  signify  a  physical  assimila- 
tion :  Tp(iya)i>,  eating  with  the  teeth ;  nivwy,  drinking  as  a  beverage ;  and  He 
makes  it  certain  that  this  is  not  a  metaphor  but  a  reality:  a\ridws  $pw(ris, 

[108] 


BooKu]  THE   BREAD  OF  LIFE 

also  shall  live  by  Me."  True  life  has  Its  source  in  God 
alone,  Who  Is  the  Living  Father,  according  to  Jesus' 
expression.  This  life  attains  its  bloom  in  His  Word,  and, 
in  a  visible  manner  for  us,  in  the  Man-God.  To  eat  the 
Man-God  is  to  bring  within  ourselves  that  which  is  in 
the  Man-God  Himself,  and  consequently  the  life  of  the 
Father;  it  is  to  unite  ourselves  to  the  Infinite,  since  we 
establish  between  ourselves  and  Jesus  the  same  relation  that 
exists  between  Jesus  and  His  Father.  Only,  the  Son  derives 
His  hfe  directly  from  that  of  the  Father,  and,  reproduc- 
ing it  on  earth  under  a  human  form.  He  places  it  within  our 
reach.  As  earthly  bread  gives  a  share  in  the  life  of  nature, 
the  bread  of  heaven  gives  us  a  share  in  the  life  of  God. 
It  is  called  living  bread  because  it  bears  the  Living  One^ 
and  communicates  Him  to  all  who,  by  faith,  desire  to  pos- 
sess Him.  To  be  sure  we  absorb  God  less  than  God  absorbs 
us ;  but  we  are  nevertheless  the  drop  of  water  which,  fall- 
ing into  the  sea,  shares  in  its  lofty  risings,  in  the  majesty 
of  its  calm,  in  the  purity  of  its  azure  mass.  Does  commun- 
ion, then,  really  place  the  hfe  divine  in  us.'*  Yes,  for  it  is 
Jesus  Himself  that  says  so,  and  it  is  easy  to  understand 
that  the  divine  element  entering  into  our  souls  through 
our  bodies,  engenders,  sustains,  and  perfects  therein  the 
very  principle  of  our  supernatural  life. 

The  conclusion  of  this  sublime  discourse  is  an  invitation 
to  unite  ourselves  to  Jesus,  at  present  by  faith,  later  on 
by  the  Eucharist,  for  there  is  no  doubt  that,  mindful  of 
His  approaching  death,  appointing  it  even  for  the  next 
Passover  as  the  reality  of  the  symbolic  immolation  of  the 
lamb,  He  referred  to  the  Institution  that  was  to  per- 
petuate its  memory.  "This  is  the  bread  that  came  down 
from  heaven.  Not  as  your  fathers  did  eat  manna,  and 
are  dead.  He  that  eateth  this  bread  shall  live  forever." 
His  hearers  were  more  and  more  amazed  at  His  words. 

[109] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

They  had  begun  by  murmuring  and  disputing ;  they  ended 
by  giving  expression  to  their  indignant  feehngs,  to  which, 
indeed,  even  some  of  the  disciples  were  not  strangers. 
"This  saying  is  hard,"  they  exclaimed,  "and  who  can  bear 
it?"  No  doubt,  those  who  saw  no  possible  realisation  for 
the  Master's  words  other  than  in  a  revolting  and  canni- 
balistic sense,  had  some  reason  for  being  repelled  by  this 
proposition.  But  they  were  wrong  in  attributing  to  Jesus 
such  extravagant  designs.  His  words  must  have  had  a 
more  spiritual  meaning,  and  it  was  for  His  hearers  to 
discover  it.  Far  from  retracting  them,  the  Master  en- 
deavoured to  maintain  them  in  their  literal  and  direct  sense, 
merely  hinting  that  there  was  a  misunderstanding  as  to 
the  manner  of  eating,  which  was  to  be  in  no  way  bloody. 
"Doth  this  scandalise  you.''"  He  said.  "If  then  you  shall 
see  the  Son  of  Man  ascend  up  where  He  was  before.''"^ 
They  will  then  at  least  understand  that  there  could  be  no 
question  of  eating  flesh  that  is  given  out  in  portions  like 
the  flesh  of  a  mortal  victim.  He  who  ascends  to  heaven 
after  his  resurrection  cannot  die  again.  This,  therefore, 
is  what  will  take  place:  Jesus  will  give  Himself  really,  but 
under  a  mystical  form ;  substantially,  but  under  the  sacra- 
mental species  that  will  recall  His  death;  wholly.  His 
humanity  and  His  divinity  together ;  Himself  entire,  in 
a  word,  but  multiplied,  not  divided.  Then  He  shall  appear 
as  the  Bread  from  Heaven,  since,  having  come  down  from 
heaven.  He  will  ascend  again,  and  though  eaten  as  a  Victim 
here  below,  on  high  He  will  nevertheless  ever  be  King,  liv- 
ing and  full  of  glory.  Then  shall  men  grasp  at  every 
reason  to  apply  to  themselves  the  doctrine  and  the  supreme 
expiation  of  Him  Who  will  have  sealed  His  work  with  the 
prodigy  of  His  Ascension. 

'  This  allusion  to  the  Ascension  is  the  more  remarkable  since  St.  John 
says  nothing  later  on  of  the  Ascension  itself. 

[110] 


BOOK  II]  THE   BREAD   OF  LIFE 

Henceforth,  if  one  wishes  to  comprehend  that  which 
seems  to  be  incomprehensible,  he  must  be  penetrated  by  the 
words  which  the  Master  adds,  and  which  dispel  many  diffi- 
culties. "It  is  the  spirit  that  quickeneth,"  He  says ;  "the 
flesh  profiteth  nothing.  The  words  that  I  have  spoken 
to  you  are  spirit  and  life."  Let  not  the  senses  therefore 
endeavour  to  find  the  flesh  of  Jesus  Christ;  they  will  not 
discover  it ;  it  is  a  mystical  flesh ;  it  is  for  the  spirit  alone 
to  find  it,  to  feel  it,  to  adore  it  while  eating  it.  From  the 
natural  point  of  view,  the  Eucharist  would  be  impossible. 
From  the  supernatural  point  of  view,  it  is  life  in  all  that 
is  sublime  and  ideal.  He  comprehends  it  who  can  silence 
his  body,  and  can  give  ear  to  his  soul  alone,  in  the  light  of 
faith  and  in  the  ecstasy  of  love. 

Therefore,  whatever  doubts  His  hearers  might  have  as 
to  the  character  of  the  Messianic  Kingdom,  let  them  now 
be  put  aside.  Its  atmosphere  is  the  purest  spirituality. 
All  earthly  views,  aU  human  means,  all  coarse  appetites  are 
excluded  from  it.  The  King,  as  Jesus  has  jiist  said,  gives 
Himself  to  be  the  food  of  His  subjects'  souls,  and,  by  this 
giving,  creates  the  close  ties  that  bind  His  people  to  Him. 
In  the  supernatural  gifts  He  off'ers  and  the  religious 
homage  He  expects,  material  desires  have  no  part.  Nearly 
all  the  relations  of  the  Master  to  His  subjects  are  estab- 
lished in  the  higher,  invisible  world  of  spirits.  Like  swift- 
Avinged  eagles,  the  faithful  ever  rise  up  to  reach  for  the 
heavenly  bread,  to  grasp  it,  and  to  eat  it.  For  them  it  is 
a  duty  and  a  pleasure.  The  bread  that  is  given  is  the 
King  Himself,  and  all  together,  forming  but  one  people, 
one  family,  the  organism  of  one  body,  as  it  were,  accord- 
ing to  St.  Paul's  beautiful  expression,  they  constitute  the 
most  holy,  the  most  worthy,  the  most  divine  homage  that 
earth  can  off'er  to  heaven. 

But,  in  all  this,  there  was  no  trace  of  what  had  been 
[111] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [pakt  second 

the  dream  of  those  ambitious  disciples  who,  a  few  days 
before,  had  hastened  to  the  Master's  side.  If  by  this 
explicit  profession  of  faith,  Jesus  had  wished  to  end  all 
misunderstanding,  His  success  was  complete.  He  per- 
ceived it,  for,  says  the  Evangelist,  He  read  in  their  hearts, 
and  distinguished  "those  that  did  not  believe,  and  who  he 
was  that  would  betray  Him."  Therefore,  with  an  accent 
of  profound  sadness,  He  added:  "There  are  some  of  you 
that  believe  not.  .  .  .  Therefore  did  I  say  to  you,  that 
no  man  can  come  to  Me,  unless  it  be  given  him  by  My 
Father."  It  was  a  touching  farewell  addressed  to  all  those 
who  looked  for  a  temporal  Messiah. 

Deceived  in  their  hopes,  the  politicians  noisily  withdrew. 
Their  business  was  not  with  a  spiritual  Messiah,  and  they 
departed. 

Unfortunately  this  voluntary  separation,  which  purged 
the  Kingdom  of  God  of  a  most  dangerous  leaven,  did  not 
extend  to  the  Apostolic  circle  itself,  where  the  criminal 
element  was  still  represented.  As  if  to  force  them  to  de- 
clare themselves  explicitly,  Jesus  turns  to  the  Twelve,'^  and 
says,  "Will  ye  also  go  away.?"  Peter  with  his  customary 
ardour  made  himself  the  voice  of  all  and  answered:  "Lord, 
to  whom  shall  we  go.''  Thou  hast  the  words  of  eternal 
life.  And  we  have  believed  and  have  known  that  Thou  art 
the  Holy  One  of  God."  No  one  protested  against  this  act 
of  faith,  the  terms  of  which  seemed  to  make  it  collective. 
Yet  there  was  one  who  could  not  give  his  adherence  to  it; 
this  was  Judas.  In  a  tone  of  sadness  fully  capable  of 
penetrating  and  converting  a  soul  less  hypocritical,  Jesus 

'  St.  John  suddenly  speaks  of  the  Twelve  as  if  they  had  already  been 
mentioned.  In  his  Gospel  he  has  spoken  of  the  vocation  of  only  five  disciples 
and  of  the  existence  of  an  indeterminate  but  large  group  of  faithful.  So 
we  see  here  another  instance  of  his  agreement  with  me  Synoptics,  St.  Luke 
vi,  12  et  seq.\  St.  Mark  iii,  13  et  seq.  TelUng  that  Jesus  has  chosen  the 
Twelve,  he  says :  e{€\e|(i/t7ji',  while  St.  Luke  vi,  13,  says :  iK\e^dfifvos. 

[112] 


BOOK  II]  THE  BREAD  OF  LIFE 

said:  "Have  not  I  chosen  you  twelve?  And  one  of  you  is 
a  devil."  This  awful  utterance  passed  unheeded  the  heart 
of  the  wretched  man,  who  declined  to  escape  by  the  door 
thus  opened  to  him.  He  assumed  an  impassive  expression, 
and  counted  on  the  Master's  kindness  not  to  betray  him. 
The  truly  wicked  have  confidence  enough  in  the  virtue  of 
the  good  to  repay  them  for  their  inexhaustible  patience. 
From  now  on  the  position  of  Jesus  in  Galilee  becomes 
difficult.  Several  of  His  disciples  having  given  the  exam- 
ple of  defection,  the  people  will  manifest  less  enthusiasm 
and  interest  in  Him.  His  enemies  will  profit  by  it  to 
pursue  Him  more  boldly,  and,  even  in  Galilee,  where  the 
harvest  seemed  to  advance  so  rich  in  promise,  the  word  of 
God  threatens  to  remain  fruitless.  The  word  that  gave 
the  quietus  to  wretched  human  hopes  was  enough  to  com- 
promise everything :  "The  Messiah  is  not  the  King  of  men, 
but  the  King  of  souls." 


[113] 


CHAPTER   IV 

THE  PHARISEES   AGAIN   ASSUME 
THE   OFFENSIVE 

Renewed  Enthusiasm — The  Ears  of  Coen  Gatheeed 
AND  Eaten  on  the  Sabbath — Jesus'  Twofold  Re- 
sponse— The  Sabbath  Is  for  Man,  Not  Man  for 
the  Sabbath — Eating  with  Unwashed  Hands — A 
Counter-Question  in  Reply — Jesus'  Sublime  Mo- 
rality: Only  That  Which  Comes  from  the  Heart 
Defiles  a  Man — The  Anger  of  the  Pharisees — • 
Jesus'  Appreciation  —  His  Explanations  to  the 
Disciples — The  Man  with  the  Withered  Hand — 
Jesus  Questions  His  Adversaries  —  They  Refuse 
TO  Answer  —  Their  Resolution  to  Join  with  the 
Heeodians  and  to  Put  Jesus  to  Death.  (St.  Luke 
vi,  1-11;  St.  Mark  ii,  23-28;  vii,  1-23;  iii,  1-6;  St. 
Matthew  xii,  1-8;  xv,  1-20;  xii,  9-14.^) 

When  they  saw  that  the  Saviour's  popularity  was  now 
on  the  wane,  the  Pharisees  concluded  that  they  could  again 
assume  the  offensive,  with  some  chance  of  success.  They 
were  returning  from  the  celebration  of  the  Paschal  feast 

'  We  have  placed  here  the  incident  of  the  ears  of  corn  cut  on  the  second- 
first  Sabbath,  because  chronologically  we  are  not  far  from  the  date  on  which 
it  must  have  occurred.  The  corn  was  ripe,  and  the  particular  Sabbath 
indicated  by  St.  Luke  was  at  this  epoch.  The  cure  of  the  man  with  the 
withered  hand  took  place  a  short  time  afterward.  The  violent  resolution 
which  the  Pharisees  take  and  their  alliance  with  the  Herodians  are  here 
in  their  proper  place. 

[114] 


BooKii]      PHARISEES  ASSUME  OFFENSIVE 

in  Jerusalem,  Avhere  they  had  again  drunk  in  at  its  very- 
source  the  most  ardent  zeal  and  the  most  extreme  formal- 
ism. To  surprise  the  disciples  of  Jesus  in  formal  opposi- 
tion to  the  prescriptions  of  the  Rabbis  was  not  difficult. 
The  Master,  by  His  example  and  by  His  counsel,  had 
authorised  them  resolutely  to  suppress  all  those  ridiculous 
observances  which,  like  vile  excrescences,  disfigured  the  an- 
cient tree  of  the  Mosaic  law.  They  did  not  hesitate  to  do 
so.  Hence  the  Pharisees  were  filled  with  increasing  anger 
and  indignantly  protested. 

One  Sabbath-day,-  for  instance,  they  had  been  seen 
violating  the  law  of  rest,  and  the  scandal  they  gave  was 
great.     The  circumstances  were  as  follows : 

In  company  with  the  Master,  they  were  passing  by  a 
field  of  ripened  grain.  They  were  fasting.  Except  in 
case  of  sickness,  a  faithful  Israelite  took  nothing  on  the 
Sabbath-day  before  offering  up  his  early  devotions  ^  in 
the  synagogue.  Oppressed  with  hunger,  the  disciples  be- 
gan to  gather  some  ears  of  corn  *  which  they  ground 
between  their  hands  in  order  to  eat  them.^     Certain  Phar- 

^St.  Luke  names  this  day  the  second-first  Sabbath.  The  question  is, 
what  does  this  word  signify,  and  explanations  are  as  numerous  as  they  are 
uncertain.  Some  say  that  the  second-first  Sabbath  was  the  first  Sabbath 
of  the  second  month  of  the  year;  others  that  it  was  the  first  of  the  seven 
Sabbaths  extending  from  the  second  day  of  the  Paschal  week  (16th  of  Nisan)  to 
Pentecost.  Others,  again,  understand  it  to  be  the  first  Sabbath  of  the  second 
vear  of  the  Sabbatic  cycle.  Quite  recently  it  has  been  thought  that  the  Jews 
had  two  first  Sabbaths,  one  beginning  the  civil  year  in  the  month  of  Tisri 
(September-October),  and  the  other  the  ecclesiastical  year  in  the  month  of 
N'isan  (March-April).  The  latter  Sabbath  would  be  called  the  second-first, 
while  the  former  would  be  called  the  first-first.  In  any  case,  it  is  a  question 
of  a  date  shortly  after  the  Passover. 

^  Berac,  i,  4. 

*  From  this  account,  found  in  all  the  SjTioptics,  it  is  clearly  seen  that  Jesus 
had  passed  one  spring  and,  consequently,  one  feast  of  the  Passover  in  Galilee, 
before  that  on  which  He  was  put  to  death.  The  Synoptics  quite  unexpectedly 
agree  in  this  with  St.  John  vi,  4. 

^  In  our  joiu"neys  in  Palestine  we  have  often  seen  this  done.  Our  guides, 
with  little  or  no  respect  for  the  property  of  others,  gathered  the  almost  ripe 
corn  and  ate  it. 

[115] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

isees  saw  them  and  became  indignant,  not  on  account  of  the 
theft,  which  the  law  authorised,^  but  because  of  the  viola- 
tion of  the  Sabbath.  Some  of  them  directly  attacked  the 
disciples.  "Why  do  ye  do  that,"  they  said,  "which  is 
not  lawful  on  the  Sabbath-day.?"  Others,  in  turn,  ad- 
dressed the  Master,  since  it  was  for  Him  that  they  had 
the  greatest  hatred:  "Behold,  thy  disciples  do  that  which 
is  not  lawful  to  do  on  the  Sabbath-day!"  Is  not  this 
plucking  and  crushing  of  the  corn  tantamount  to  harvest- 
ing and  grinding  it  ?  Is  it  not  doing  servile  work  ?  This 
misdemeanour  was  provided  for  in  the  tradition  of  the 
ancients.  It  was  included  in  one  of  the  thirty-nine  cases 
marked  out  by  the  Rabbis  on  the  subject  of  the  Sabbatic 
repose."^ 

Jesus  gave  no  time  to  the  discussion  either  of  the 
authority  or  of  the  reality  of  this  prohibition.  For  His 
masterful  teaching  other  ground  and  broader  horizons 
were  necessary.  "Have  ye  never  read,"  said  He,  "what 
David  did  when  he  had  need  and  was  hungry,  himself  and 
they  that  were  with  him?  How  he  went  into  the  house  of 
God  ^  under  Abiathar,  the  High-Priest,^  and  did  eat  the 

'  According  to  DeiU.  xxiii,  25,  one  might,  when  hungry,  gather  ears  of 
com  with  his  hands,  but  not  with  the  sickle. 
'  Maimonides,  Schabba,  ch.  viii. 

*  This  expression  refers  here  to  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant,  which  was  then 
at  Nobe.     (/  Kings  xxi,  1.) 

*  St.  Mark  mentions  only  Abiathar,  and  even  this  name  is  suppressed  in 
some  copies,  the  copyists  being  too  much  taken  up  with  an  apparent  historical 
inaccuracy.  In  fact,  it  is  Achimelech,  father  of  Abiathar,  who  gives  the 
loaves  of  proposition  to  David,  who  is  fleeing  from  the  wrath  of  Saul.  He 
pays  for  his  Kindness  with  his  life.  Yet  we  read  (//  Kings  viii,  17,  and 
/  Paralipomenon  xviii,  16)  that  Abiathar  was  father  to  Achimelech.  It  is 
not  impossible  that  the  father  and  the  son  were  both  called  by  the  two  names 
of  Abiathar-Achimelech.  This  would  be  nothing  new  in  the  history  of  the 
Jewish  people,  and  in  this  way  an  apparent  error  which  is  found  in  the  Old 
Testament,  before  occurring  in  St.  Mark,  would  be  easily  explained.  Some 
exegetes  do  away  with  the  diflBculty  by  translating  Jesus'  words  as  a  literary 
reference:  "Have  ye  never  read  ...  in  the  section  of  Abiathar,  the  High- 
Priest?"  The  account  He  thus  referred  to  was  the  hturgical  fragment  that 
contained  the  history  of  the  priest  of  David. 

[116] 


BOOK  II]      PHARISEES  ASSUME  OFFENSIVE 

loaves  of  proposition,  which  was  not  lawful  to  eat  but  for 
the  priests?"  If  David's  act  has  always  seemed  to  be 
pardonable  in  such  circumstances,  it  is  because  natural  law 
takes  precedence  over  all  positive  laws.  When  that  law 
speaks,  all  other  laws  must  be  silent.  Is  it  not  evident 
that  God  commands  man  to  live,  first,  and  then  to  observe 
ceremonial  rites  .^^  David,  the  great  prophet  and  great 
king,  had  not  hesitated  a  moment  between  the  Mosaic  obh- 
gation  of  respecting  the  twelve  loaves  placed  on  the  golden 
table  in  the  Tabernacle  and  the  peremptory  demand  of 
nature  that  neither  he  nor  those  who  were  with  him  should 
be  let  die  of  hunger.  Abiathar  had  approved  of  his  action, 
since  he  himself  had  given  him  the  holy  bread.  Were  all 
these  illustrious  believers  of  the  past  less  capable  casuists 
than  the  modern  Rabbis.'*  How,  indeed,  was  the  evil  in 
breaking  an  ear  of  corn  on  the  Sabbath-day  greater  than 
in  eating  the  loaves  reserved  for  the  priests  ? 

Instances  were  abundant.  According  to  St.  Matthew, 
the  Master  cited  another  quite  as  topical  as  the  first.  "Or 
have  ye  not  read,"  said  He,  "in  the  law  that  on  the  Sab- 
bath-day the  priests  in  the  temple  break  the  Sabbath,  and 
are  without  blame  .P"  Their  functions  necessitated  acts 
which,  in  themselves,  are  servile  works.  Thus  on  that  day 
they  immolate  the  two  lambs  of  one  year  old  claimed  by 
the  Lord;  they  prepare  the  wood  of  the  altar  and  burn  a 
portion  of  the  victims  they  have  killed.  Why,  then,  not- 
withstanding the  law  of  Sabbatic  rest,  do  they  think  that 
none  of  these  things  is  forbidden  them?  It  is  because 
they  deem  themselves  fully  dispensed  by  reasons  of  a  su- 
perior order,  the  necessities  of  the  Levitical  ministry,  just 
as  the  urgent  need  of  food,  long  before,  dispensed  David 
and  his  followers. 

"But  I  tell  you,"  continued  Jesus,  "that  there  is  here 
a  greater  than  the  temple."      He  meant,  no  doubt,  the 

[117] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

ministry  of  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel.  To  the  end 
that  they  might  progress  more  rapidly,  and  more  certainly 
glorify  God  by  the  spreading  of  the  Good-Tidings,  the 
Apostles  might  well  pluck  the  corn  and  eat  it,  even  on  the 
Sabbath-day.  Was  it  not  more  agreeable  to  the  Lord  to 
see  them  labouring  at  His  work  than  to  behold  them  ren- 
dering themselves  incapable  of  serving  Him  by  restricting 
themselves  to  useless  observances.''  If  the  Pharisees  under- 
stood that  utterance  of  wliich  He  had  once  before  reminded 
them:  "I  will  have  mercy  and  not  sacrifice,"  instead  of 
incriminating  the  innocent,  they  would  conclude  that  to 
preach  is  better  than  to  fast  or  to  respect  the  Sabbatic 
rest.  God  loves  us  more  for  an  act  of  charity  toward 
our  neighbour  than  for  an  act  of  piety  toward  Himself. 
Finally,  He  clearly  solves  the  difl5culty  by  saying:  "The 
Sabbath  was  made  for  man,  not  man  for  the  Sabbath. 
Therefore,  the  Son  of  Man  is  Lord  of  the  Sabbath  also." 

For  the  present  the  controversy  ended  there.  But  be- 
fore long  another  grave  question  was  to  spring  up,  which 
would  force  the  Master  to  give  the  final  blow  to  the  authori- 
tative pretensions  of  Pharisaic  ritualism. 

It  was  known  and  seen  that  the  disciples  of  Jesus  had 
no  scruples  in  eating  without  having  previously  washed 
their  hands.  The  Pharisees,  on  the  other  hand,  had  made 
the  custom  of  these  ablutions  almost  universal.  They  de- 
termined their  number  and  manner  ^"^  with  the  greatest 
care.  Not  only  before  and  after  meals,  but  on  returning 
from  a  public  place,  whether  the  market  or  a  popular 
assembly,  they  had  to  wash  their  hands,  and,  according  to 
circumstances,  to  hold  them,  while  being  purified,  at  times 
down,  and  at  other  times  elevated.^^      There  was  not  an 

^°  In  the  treatise,  Schukhan-Aruch,  twenty-six  prescriptions  are  given 
concerning  the  morning  ablution  of  the  hands. 

"  St.  Mark's  expression,  iay  /x^  •fvyn^  yi\l/wvTai  ras  x^'P"^)  has  been  vari- 
ously translated  by  interpreters.     According  to  some,  the  Pharisees'  principle 

[118] 


BOOK  II]      PHARISEES  ASSUME  OFFENSIVE 

object,  even  among  the  most  necessary  to  the  uses  of  life, 
that  was  not  subjected  to  regular  lustrations.  The  cups 
used  at  table,  the  vases  of  wood  and  of  brass,  the  couches 
on  which  the  guests  reclined,  if  not  cleansed  in  accordance 
with  the  strictest  rules,  might  become  a  cause  of  impurity. 
The  Pharisees  thought  that  the  supposed  stain  communi- 
cated to  these  various  obj  ects  by  profane  contact  was  trans- 
mitted to  the  body,  and  through  the  body  reached  even  to 
the  soul.  In  this  way,  by  simple  neglect,  the  most  just  and 
most  virtuous  Jew  could,  unawares,  be  covered  with  stain 
and  become  wholly  unworthy  of  communion  with  Jehovah. 
"He  that  sitteth  at  table,"  said  the  moralists  of  the  Phari- 
sees, "without  washing  his  hands,  is  as  culpable  as  the  man 
who  gives  himself  to  a  harlot."  ^^ 

Such  being  their  principles,  we  may  judge  how  angry 
they  must  have  been  at  the  independent  attitude  of  the  dis- 
ciples who  publicly  transgressed  these  extraordinary  pre- 
scriptions. They  exclaimed  that  it  was  scandalous,  im- 
pious, and,  after  having  publicly  reprehended  them,  they 
turned  to  the  Master,  convinced  that,  now  at  least.  He 
would  not  dare  to  countenance  so  flagrant  a  transgression 
of  the  law.  "Why,"  said  they  in  a  tone  of  importance, 
"do  thy  disciples  transgress  the  tradition  of  the  ancients.'' 
For  they  wash  not  their  hands  when  they  eat  bread."  By 
thus  citing  tradition  they  thought  they  said  all  that  was 
needed ;  they  knew  not,  or  feigned  not  to  know,  that  this 
unlawful  tradition,  an  invention  wholly  human  imposed 
upon  a  superstitious  and  credulous  people,  came  not  from 
God,^^  but  solely  from  the  caprice  and  the  hypocrisy  of  a 

was  to  wash  one  hand  closed  in  the  palm  of  the  other;  in  the  opinion  of  others, 
they  dipped  their  hands  in  the  water  up  to  the  wrist.  The  Vulgate  rightly 
adopts  the  reading  irv-yju^  and  translates  it  by  crebro,  often. 

'^See  Schoettgen,  Ilor.  Hebr.,  in  h.  1. 

'^  They  wrongly  based  this  pretension  on  these  passages  of  Deiit.  iv,  14, 
and  x^^i,  10 ;  and  on  Levit.  xv,  1 1 . 

[119] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [pakt  second 

few  men.  To  their  questions  Jesus,  at  first,  opposes 
another:  "Why  do  ye  also  transgress  the  command- 
ment of  God  for  your  traditions  ?  For  God  " — thus  He 
proves  His  accusation — "said  through  Moses :  Honour  thy 
father  and  thy  mother;  and  he  that  shall  curse  father  or 
mother,  dying  let  him  die.  But  ye  say:^*  If  a  man  shall 
say  to  his  father  or  his  mother :  Let  that  wherewith  I  might 
have  been  able  to  assist  thee  be  corban  (that  is  to  say,  con- 
secrated to  God),  he  is  no  longer  suffered  to  do  aught  for 
his  parents.  The  tradition  that  ye  have  invented  maketh 
void,  therefore,  the  commandment  of  God.^'^     And  many 

'*  The  Rheims  version,  from  which  we  have  ventured  to  depart  in  this 
passage,  is  rendered  obscure  by  a  too  literal  adherence  to  the  Vulgate.  The 
author,  it  will  be  observed,  has  adhered  to  the  Greek  text,  and  we  have 
thought  it  wiser  to  follow  him. — Translator's  note. 

*5  As  explained  in  St.  Mark  vii,  11,  and  supposed  in  St.  Matt,  xv,  5, 
the  Hebrew  and  Aramean  word  qorbdn  signifies  "gift,  ofjering."  This  pas- 
sage has  been  variously  interpreted  by  exegetes.  The  conciseness  of  the  text 
supposes  that  Jesus  cited  a  saying  that  was  familiar  to  the  Jews  and  quite 
intelligible  to  every  one.  Documents  are,  at  present,  lacking  for  the  elucida- 
tion of  its  precise  meaning.  Studying  the  words  Kopfiav  (8  i<m  Swpov)  f>  ikv  i^ 
ifjLov  u<pe\y6^s,  Origen,  who  could  more  easily  derive  help  from  the  ancients, 
had  declared  that  he  could  not  have  understood  it  without  the  following  ex- 
planation from  a  Jew:  "It  sometimes  happens,"  says  this  latter,  "that  a 
creditor  cleverly  forces  an  untrustworthy  debtor  to  pay  his  debt  by  giving  it 
to  the  Temple;  this  is  done  by  declaring  to  him  that  the  debt  is  corban,  or 
consecrated  to  God.  Corban,  quod  mihi  debes."  Since  no  one  could  keep 
or  take  what  was  consecrated  to  the  Lord,  children  made  use  of  it  to  dis- 
pense themselves  from  giving  anything  to  their  parents.  Other  interpreters 
have  been  inspired  by  information  found  among  the  Rabbis  concerning  the 
oath  of  the  corban.  (See  Lightfoot  and  Schoettgen  on  this  passage.)  This 
oath  is  mentioned  by  Josephus,  who  (c.  Appion.,  i,  22)  says  that  Theophras- 
tus  is  wrong  in  ascribing  it  to  the  Tyrians,  for  it  belongs  exclusively  to  the 
Jews.  (See  Antiq.,  i,  iv,  §4) ;  and  the  treatise  Nedarim  or  Vou^s,  v,  6  ;  ix, 
1  et  seq.)  According  to  these  texts,  it  would  have  to  be  translated  as  follows : 
"Whoever  has  said  to  his  parents:  '  Corban  to  me  are  all  the  services  that  I 
might  render  to  you, '  can  no  longer  do  anything  for  them."  Philo,  De 
Special.  Leg.,  c.  i,  p.  771,  speaks  of  certain  Jews  who  bound  themselves  by 
oath  to  do  no  good  to  certain  persons  whom  they  detested.  In  the  Mischna 
we  find  that  by  the  oath  of  the  corban,  however  unjust  it  might  be,  the  father 
definitively  disinherited  his  children,  the  husband  was  freed  from  all  obliga- 
tion of  supporting  his  wife,  ahd  he  who  was  thus  frustrated  could  exact 
nothing  when  the  vow  was  known  to  him.  Others  translate  it:  "All  my 
goods  are  consecrated  to  God,  but  I  grant  you  a  share  of  merit  in  my  offer- 

[120] 


BOOK  II]      PHARISEES  ASSUME  OFFENSIVE 

other  such  like  things  you  do."  "Well  did  Isaias  prophesy 
of  you  hypocrites,  as  it  is  written :  This  people  honoureth 
Me  with  their  lips ;  but  their  heart  is  far  from  Me.  And 
in  vain  do  they  worship  Me,  teaching  doctrines  and  pre- 
cepts of  men.^^  For  leaving  the  commandment  of  God 
you  hold  the  tradition  of  men,  the  washings  of  pots  and 
of  cups."  How  strange  this  wandering  away !  The  di- 
vine legislation,  so  great,  so  beautiful,  and  so  essential  for 
the  governing  of  our  moral  life,  is  basely  sacrificed  at  the 
Rabbinical  command  to  cleanse  a  dish  or  a  kettle;  such  is 
the  religion  of  the  Pharisees !  With  one  word,  Jesus  has 
reduced  it  to  its  lowest  and  most  contemptible  terms. 

Then  turning  to  the  multitude  who  were  more  capable 
of  understanding  the  truth  and  of  profiting  by  it,  He 
exclaims:  "Hear  Me,  all  of  you,  and  understand:  There 
is  nothing  from  without  a  man  that  entering  into  him  can 
defile  him.  But  the  things  which  come  out  from  a  man, 
those  are  they  that  defile  him.  If  any  man  have  ears  to 
hear,  let  him  hear."  ^^    Thus,  in  a  statement  full  of  orig- 

ing."  Whatever  we  may  say  as  to  these  diverse  interpretations,  each  one 
bears  a  Pharisaical  mark  which  accords  well  with  the  Saviour's  argument. 
In  the  first  case,  it  is  the  ingratitude  of  the  son  taking  shelter  under  a  false 
piety  toward  Jehovah,  and  finding  protection  for  his  avarice  behind  the 
Pharisaical  tradition  which  approved  of  gifts  to  the  Temple  to  the  injiuy  of 
parents.  In  the  second,  it  is  an  exaggerated  respect  for  an  oath  even  though 
unjust,  and  human  formalism  preferred  to  the  most  evident  natural  and 
divine  law.  In  the  third,  it  is  hypocrisy  giving  merit  or  spiritual  goods  even 
when  the  body  exposes  its  material  needs  and  asks  for  sensible  goods.  See 
the  explanations  of  these  texts  of  the  Mischna  in  Edersheim,  Lije  and  Times 
of  Jesus,  c.  xxxi. 

"  Isa.  xxix,  13,  quoted  with  variants  of  the  Hebrew  and  the  Septuagint. 

"  Protestantism  is  wholly  wrong  in  making  these  words  of  the  Saviour 
the  foimdation  of  its  attacks  upon  the  law  of  abstinence  enforced  by  the 
Church.  Even  in  spite  of  this  declaration  on  the  Master's  part,  it  remains 
true  that  a  man  can  be  defiled  by  the  nourishment  he  takes.  Yet  it  is  not 
that  which  enters  into  him  that  defiles  him,  but  that  which  comes  from  bis 
heart,  namely,  the  sentiment  he  experiences  while  he  eats.  If  one  takes  food 
that  is  forbidden  by  proper  authority,  he  is  defiled  by  an  act  of  rebellion; 
if  it  be  an  article  of  food  bought  at  great  expense,  he  sins  against  the  Christian 
spirit;  if  he  takes  it  to  excess,  he  sins  against  the  first  elements  of  morality. 

[121] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [paet  second 

inality  of  form  and  very  positive  in  its  meaning,  He  up- 
set the  theories  of  a  detestable  formahsm.  To  make  all 
religion  consist  in  the  multiplication  of  exterior  practices, 
as  the  Pharisees  did,  was  to  displace  the  very  seat  of  true 
piety,  which  is  in  the  sanctuary  of  the  soul,  and  to  deface 
its  character,  which  is  wholly  spiritual.  Not,  indeed,  that 
true  religion  has  no  sensible  forms  and  exterior  rites ;  for 
the  soul  frequently  feels  the  need  of  manifesting  its  deep- 
est emotions  exteriorly,  and  even  of  being  aroused,  incited, 
drawn  by  sensible  signs.  Moreover,  the  body  cannot  be 
dispensed  from  its  obligation  of  giving  its  worship,  also, 
to  the  Creator.  Still  the  accessory  must  not  become  the 
principal,  and  the  essential  must  not  die  stifled  by  that 
which  should  remain  the  less  important.  In  permitting 
the  Mosaic  rites  to  stand,  until  they  should  be  replaced 
by  others,  Jesus  in  great  measure  retained  all  that  was 
necessary  as  exterior  observances  in  the  religious  life ;  but 
in  rejecting  the  senseless  ceremonies  of  Pharisaism,  He 
freed  true  religion  from  those  puerile  superfluities  that 
had  deformed  and  dishonoured  it.  He  who  wishes  to 
know  if  he  is  pure,  must  look  not  at  his  hands,  but 
into  his  heart.  It  is  there  alone  that  true  morality  is  to 
be  found. 

The  Pharisees  had  not  looked  for  so  brave  a  response. 
The  young  Master,  without  any  ado,  struck  at  their  very 
hearts.  For  Him,  their  observances  were  as  nothing.  All 
that  ancient  traditional  scaff*olding  was  to  crumble  be- 
neath the  spiritual  influence  of  the  new  kingdom.  Their 
amazement  gradually  turned  to  anger.  The  disciples 
were  worried  at  this,  and  they  said  to  Jesus:  "Dost  thou 
know  that  the  Pharisees,  when  they  heard  this  word,  were 

Without  this  reservation,  we  shoiild  be  forced  to  admit  that  Jesus  here  con- 
demns all  the  prescriptions  of  Moses,  approves  of  luxiu-y,  and  does  not  dis- 
countenance intemperance. 


BooKii]      PHARISEES  ASSUME  OFFENSIVE 

scandalised?"  Unmoved  by  their  anxiety,  the  Master 
replied:  "Every  plant  which  my  Heavenly  Father  hath 
not  planted  shall  be  rooted  up."  And,  indeed,  the  teach- 
ings that  are  not  from  God,  the  arbitrary  dogmas  of  the 
human  mind,  are  not  more  durable  than  man  himself.  Of 
the  innumerable  precepts  of  Pharisaism  there  shall  be  soon 
nothing  left,  and  the  sect  itself  shall  have  lived  its  life. 
"Let  them  alone,"  added  Jesus  sadly ;  "they  are  blind  and 
leaders  of  the  blind.  And  if  the  blind  lead  the  blind,  both 
fall  into  the  pit."  Under  their  interminable  explanations 
and  their  capricious  innovations,  as  beneath  an  impenetra- 
ble veil,  these  false  teachers  have  ended  by  concealing  the 
bright  light  of  divine  revelation,  and,  like  incapable  guides, 
wandering  about  in  the  darkness  which  their  malice  has 
imprudently  brought  on,  they  lead  their  ignorant  follow- 
ers to  death. 

This  peremptory  argument  relieved  the  anxiety  of  the 
Apostles  and  changed  their  worry  into  visible  triumph. 
But  they  had  only  partially  understood  the  apothegm 
which  Jesus  had  used  to  confound  His  enemies.  When, 
therefore,  the  Master  had  dismissed  the  multitude  and  had 
re-entered  the  house,  Peter,  in  behalf  of  all,  approached 
Him  and  said:  "Expound  to  us  this  parable."  It  would 
have  been  more  correct  to  say :  "these  words"  or  "this  say- 
ing" ;  for  Jesus  had  not  spoken  a  parable.  "Are  ye  also 
yet  without  understanding.''"  cried  the  Master.  "Know  ye 
not  that  everything  from  without  entering  into  a  man 
cannot  defile  him,  because  it  entereth  not  into  his  heart, 
but  goeth  into  his  belly  and  thence  takes  its  natural 
course,^®  purging  all  meats.''  But  the  things  which  pro- 
ceed out  of  the  mouth,  come  forth  from  the  heart,  and 
those  things  defile  a  man.     For  from  within  out  of  the 

"  In  the  text  there  is  a  cruder  expression,  tls  itpeSpuva  iKfidWtrai,  to  which 
modern  languages  hardly  lend  themselves.     The  Orientals  are  less  fastidious. 

[  123] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

heart  proceed  evil  thoughts,  adulteries,  fornications,  mur- 
ders, thefts,  false  testimonies,  envy,  blasphemy,  pride,  and 
foolishness.  All  these  evil  things  come  from  within  and 
defile  a  man.  But  to  eat  with  unwashed  hands  doth  not 
defile  a  man." 

The  moral  stain  of  sin,  the  only  stain  that  should  trouble 
man,  is  received  in  the  soul  alone,  and  can  result  only  from 
a  moral  act.  A  physical  stain  may  in  itself  be  disagree- 
able or  unbecoming,  but  it  does  not  constitute  a  sin.  From 
the  heart  only,  the  real  centre  of  man,  does  sin  come  forth, 
and  there,  too,  it  dwells.  The  food  that  one  eats,  the 
ablutions  that  he  practises,  touch,  in  truth,  only  the  body. 
None  of  these  can  interest  the  soul,  except  by  the  inter- 
vention of  an  authorised  law.  But  that  law  so  loudly 
proclaimed  by  the  Pharisees  was  not  such,  and  Jesus, 
in  His  charity,  legitimately  demolished  the  imaginary 
yoke  imposed  through  false  devotion  upon  a  people 
already  unable  to  bear  the  lawful  yoke  of  the  law  of 
Moses. 

But  religious  fanaticism  can  never  be  attacked  without 
danger,  especially  when  it  Is  Intensified  by  human  Interests 
and  by  criminal  hypocrisy. 

This  excitement  was  the  harbinger  of  a  renewed  out- 
burst In  the  near  future.  In  fact,  on  the  following  Sab- 
bath, Jesus  was  to  appear  as  usual  and  preach  in  the 
synagogue.  The  Pharisees  resolved  to  await  Him  there 
In  the  hope  of  stirring  up  another  controversy.  The 
slightest  thing  would  serve  them  as  a  pretext  for  an  attack 
on  this  bold  reformer.  In  the  assembly  was  a  man  whose 
right  hand  was  withered,  that  is,  deprived  of  Its  vitality, 
by  paralysis.  The  Gospel  of  the  Nazarenes,  in  Its  account 
of  this  scene,  has  placed  the  following  prayer  upon  the 
sick  man's  lips:  "I  was  a  poor  mason,  winning  my  bread 
by  the  labour  of  my  hands ;  I  pray  Thee,  Jesus,  give  me 

[124] 


BOOK  II]      PHARISEES  ASSUME  OFFENSIVE 

back  my  health  to  withdraw  me  from  the  shame  of  beg- 
ging my  Hving."  However  authentic  this  detail  may  be, 
the  wretched  man  attracted  Our  Lord's  attention.  The 
Pharisees  wondered  whether  Jesus  would  push  His  daring 
so  far  as  to  heal  the  paralytic  on  the  Sabbath-day,  in  the 
synagogue  itself,  at  the  very  moment  of  public  prayer. 
In  reality,  the  cure  might  be  postponed  until  the  follow- 
ing day.  No  true  son  of  the  Law,  in  their  opinion,  would 
hesitate  in  following  this  wise  determination ;  but  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  seemed  to  them  to  be  audacious  enough  to  act 
otherwise. 

They  were  not  mistaken.  The  Master  read  their  whole 
thought  in  their  eyes,  and,  determining  to  give  them  the 
lesson  they  deserved,  He  said  to  the  paralytic :  "Arise,  and 
stand  forth  in  the  midst."  It  was  a  theological  demonstra- 
tion that  was  to  be  for  the  benefit  of  all.  Then  He  turned 
to  His  adversaries,  and  said :  "I  ask  you,  if  it  be  lawful  on 
the  Sabbath  day  to  do  good  or  to  do  evil,  to  save  life,  or 
to  destroy.?"  For  Him,  Who  has  all  power  in  His  hands, 
to  omit  to  do  good  is  to  do  wrong ;  not  to  save,  when  one 
can,  is  to  kill.  This  alternative  is  avoided  only  when  one 
is  free  from  responsibility  with  regard  to  him  who  is 
perishing  or  in  pain.  But  this  is  not  the  case  with  Jesus, 
Who  has  been  sent  with  supreme  power  and  with  the  duty 
of  employing  it  for  the  good  of  mankind.  To  hesitate 
to  do  good  is  to  become  responsible  for  evil.  Would  they 
dare  to  pretend  that  He  would  be  guilty  of  a  smaller  viola- 
tion of  the  law  of  the  Sabbath  by  permitting  the  evil  to 
exist.?  He  awaits  the  reply  of  His  accusers.  Malice 
causes  them  to  hold  their  peace.  Then  turning  upon  them 
a  long  and  indignant  look.  He  added:  "What  man  shall 
there  be  among  you" — and  this  personal  argument  con- 
founds them — "that  hath  one  sheep ;  and  if  the  same  fall 
into  a  pit  on  the  Sabbath-day,  will  he  not  take  hold  on  it 

[125] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [paht  second 

and  lift  it  up?  How  much  better  is  a  man  than  a  sheep?" 
These  words,  from  the  depths  of  the  Master's  loving  heart, 
throw  an  awful  light  on  the  egoism  of  the  Pharisees.  A 
sheep  is  in  danger,  and  because  it  is  their  sheep.,  they  are 
dispensed  from  the  law  of  the  Sabbath;  but  a  man,  their 
neighbour,  is  suffering  and  there  is  no  dispensation !  Is 
there,  then,  in  their  souls  no  room  but  for  the  love  of  them- 
selves, and  have  they  no  love  for  humanity?  For  Jesus, 
the  sick  man  is  of  much  more  account  than  a  sheep ;  he 
is  a  friend,  a  brother.  "Stretch  forth  thy  hand,"  the 
Master  says  to  him,  and  the  man,  certain  that  He  Who 
bade  him  do  so,  gave  him  at  the  same  time  the  strength 
to  do  it,  stretched  forth  his  hand  as  he  was  accustomed 
to  do  before  his  illness,  and  his  hand  became  perfectly 
sound. 

Three  defeats,  each  more  humiliating  than  the  other, 
in  so  short  a  space  of  time  and  at  the  very  moment  that 
seemed  the  most  propitious  for  victory,  "filled  the  Phari- 
sees," according  to  St.  Luke's  expression,  "with  madness." 
They  quitted  the  assembly  and  took  counsel  to  see  what 
was  to  be  done.  The  thought  came  to  them  to  end  it  all 
with  one  violent  stroke ;  but,  as  they  were  in  Herod's  terri- 
tory, they  could  not  undertake  so  important  a  step  un- 
less in  connivance  with  the  tetrarch.  From  that  time  on 
they  considered  without  any  hesitation  the  plan  of  having 
a  secret  understanding  with  some  of  his  partisans  and 
admirers.  Since  the  Pharisees  had  permitted  John  the 
Baptist  to  fall  into  Herod's  hands,  Herod  might  weU  give 
Jesus  up  to  the  power  of  the  Pharisees. 

In  order  to  defeat  these  frankly  murderous  designs, 
Jesus  made  ready  to  flee.  He  might  have  withstood  these 
dangerous  plotters  with  a  group  of  faithful  followers ;  but 
He  preferred  to  recommend  silence  about  Himself  and 
His  works.     St.  Matthew  says  that  thus  He  was  to  fulfil 

[126] 


BOOK  II]      PHARISEES  ASSUME  OFFENSIVE 

the  words  of  Isaias :  ^^  "Behold  my  servant  whom  I  have 
chosen,  my  beloved  in  whom  my  soul  hath  been  well  pleased. 
I  will  put  my  Spirit  upon  him,  and  he  shall  show  judgment 
to  the  Gentiles.  He  shall  not  contend,  nor  cry  out,  neither 
shall  any  man  hear  his  voice  in  the  streets.  The  bruised 
reed  he  shall  not  break,  and  the  smoking  flax  he  shall  not 
extinguish,  till  he  send  forth  judgment  unto  victory.  And 
in  his  name  the  Gentiles  shall  hope."  From  this  moment 
He  ceased  to  have  His  domicile  at  Capharnaum,  in  order 
that  He  might  henceforth  lead  a  wandering  life  like  the 
Apostle  who  goes  before  Him,  seeking  souls  desirous  of 
receiving  the  Good-Tidings,  watching  the  plots  of  His 
enemies,  undoing  their  plans,  and  often  reaching  the  close 
of  a  wearisome  day  without  finding  a  shelter  beneath  which 
to  rest  His  head.     The  evil  days  have  begun. 

"  Isa.  xl,  1  et  seq.  The  citation  follows  the  Hebrew  very  freely,  together 
with  some  traces  of  the  Septuagmt.  This  prophecy,  according  to  the  Rabbis 
(see  the  Chcddean  Paraphrases),  was  well  known  as  being  Messianic. 


[127] 


CHAPTER    V 

JESUS   RETIRES    TO   THE  BORDERS 

OF   PHCENICIA   AND   WITHIN 

THE   REGION   OF   THE 

DECAPOLIS 

Reasons  for  This  Retreat — The  Woman  of  Canaan — 
Her  Admirable  Faith — Her  Daughter  Is  Cured — 
If  Jesus  Saw  Tyre  and  Sidon,  What  Must  His  Im- 
pressions Have  Been  ? — The  Road  to  the  Decapolis 
— The  Cure  of  the  Deaf-Mute — Great  Concourse 
of  People  Demanding  Miracles — Universal  Enthu- 
siasm —  Second  Multiplication  of  the  Loaves  — 
Jesus  Leaves  This  Country.  (St.  Matthew  xv,  911- 
38 ;  St.  Mark  vii,  24-37  ;  viii,  1-9.) 

Fleeing  then  from  the  hatred  of  His  adversaries,  Jesus 
went  off  toward  the  north-west.  He  followed  the  road 
of  Safet,  left  Giscala  on  the  right,  and,  crossing  the  broken 
hills  of  upper  Galilee,  He  came  to  the  confines  of  Tyre 
and  Sidon. ^  In  this  country,  which  is  wholly  outside  of 
Palestine,  though  only  two  days'  journey  from  the  lake. 
He  would  escape  the  provocation  of  His  enemies  and  the 
importunities  of  the  multitude.     His  object  was  to  have 

*  We  made  this  journey  ourselves  in  1899,  on  our  third  trip  to  Palestine. 
This  is  perhaps  the  most  picturesque  portion  of  the  Holy  Land. 

[  128] 


BooKu]  JESUS  RETIRES 

them  forget  Him  for  a  time.  This  is  why  St.  Mark  ob- 
serves that,  on  entering  the  houses  of  His  entertainers, 
He  at  once  told  them  that  He  wished  to  live  there  unknown. 

His  wish  was  not  respected.  Whether  already  betrayed 
by  the  Apostles'  enthusiasm,  or  preceded  by  the  fame  of 
His  works,  it  was  not  long  before  it  became  known  that 
He  was  in  the  country.  A  woman  of  Syro-Phoenlcian 
origin,^  whose  daughter  was  tormented  by  a  demon,  seems 
to  have  been  particularly  well  informed  as  to  who  Jesus 
was  and  of  what  He  could  do.  Great  grief  almost  always 
renders  a  woman  unreserved,  even  with  those  whom  she  does 
not  know.  It  may  be  that  the  Canaanite  woman's  story 
of  her  trials  as  a  mother  determined  the  Apostles  or,  better 
still,  the  devoted  benefactresses  of  the  Apostolic  group,  to 
perform  an  act  of  charitable  indiscretion.  It  is  certain, 
at  any  rate,  according  to  the  Gospel  narrative,  that  this 
woman  had  of  Jesus  an  idea  as  exact  as  it  was  complete. 
Though  an  idolatress,  she  hailed  in  Him,  not  only  the 
Thaumaturgus  Who  expelled  evil  spirits,  but  the  divine 
Envoy  in  Whom  were  realised  the  Messianic  hopes  of 
Israel. 

Approaching  the  house  where  Jesus  had  received  hos- 
pitality, she  cried  to  Him:  "Have  mercy  on  me,  O  Lord, 
thou  son  of  David!  my  daughter  is  grievously  troubled 
by  a  devil!"  This  heart-rending  appeal  of  the  mother, 
who  seemed  herself  to  feel  the  pains  of  the  daughter,  ap- 

^  St.  Matthew,  following  the  Bible,  says  that  she  was  of  Canaan.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  the  Canaanites,  driven  out  of  Palestine  by  the  Hebrews,  had, 
in  great  numbers,  taken  refuge  on  the  coast  of  the  Mediterranean.  The 
Sidonians  are  more  particularly  called  Canaanites  in  the  Sacred  Books. 
{Gen.  X,  15;  Judges  i,  31.)  But  while  St.  Matthew  therefore  preserves  this 
name  here,  St.  Mark,  writing  ^  for  the  Romans,  says  that  the  woman  was 
of  Syro -Phoenician  CSvpocpoiviKKTa-a)  origin,  and  Greek  {'EW-nvis)  or  pagan  in 
religion.  Greek  was  synonymous  with  Gentile  or  pagan.  (//  Mace,  xi,  2, 
etc.)  St.  Matt,  xv,  22,  indicates  that  she  came  from  some  village  of  Tyre 
bordering  on  Galilee.  According  to  the  Homil.  Clem.,  ii,  19;  iii,  73;  iv,  1, 
this  woman  was  called  Justa  and  her  daughter  Berenice. 

[129] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

peared,  however,  to  produce  no  effect  on  Jesus.  He  re- 
plied not  a  word,  and,  as  she  continued  her  supphcations, 
the  Apostles,  moved  by  them,  made  themselves  her  advo- 
cates, and,  asking  Him  to  grant  her  prayer,  they  said: 
"Send  her  away  for  she  crieth  after  us."  Indeed,  the  motive 
which  they  put  forth  to  sustain  their  request,  and  which 
might  be  expressed  as  follows:  "Deliver  us  from  her  im- 
portunities," only  half  conceals  beneath  apparent  indiffer- 
ence the  strong  desire  they  had  of  seeing  the  mother's 
prayer  granted. 

Such  a  sentiment  among  the  disciples  in  favour  of  a 
pagan  woman  must  be  signalised  as  a  great  step  beyond 
their  ancient  prejudices.  The  horizon  was  therefore  broad- 
ening out  for  these  peasants  of  Galilee,  and  Jesus  was 
made  happy  by  that  fact. 

Still,  the  better  to  try  them,  He  merely  replied,  some- 
what unfeelingly:  "I  was  not  sent,  but  to  the  lost  sheep 
of  the  house  of  Israel."  This  was  a  repetition,  as  if  ex- 
pressing His  own  thought,  of  an  observation  which  the 
Apostles  must  have  frequently  made  themselves.  Thus 
ironically  He  made  Himself  the  echo  of  their  narrow  ideas 
in  order  to  reject  their  request.  They  suspected  that  this 
sternness  would  not  last,  and  that  the  Master  would  in 
the  end  be  moved  to  tenderness.  A  true  man  will  not  resist 
a  woman's  tears  when  she  speaks  in  the  name  of  her  mother- 
hood. They,  therefore,  permitted  the  Canaanite  to  enter 
the  house.  There  she  fell  at  the  feet  of  Him  Whose  favour 
she  wished  to  gain,  and  adored  Him,  saying:  "Lord,  help 
me !"  But  Jesus  still  withheld,  as  if  He  really  shared  the 
principles  of  Jewish  exclusiveness  which  He  had  but  just 
condemned.  "Suffer  first  the  children  to  be  filled,"  He  said 
to  her,  "for  it  is  not  good  to  take  the  bread  of  the  chil- 
dren and  cast  it  to  the  dogs."  His  words  were  a  true 
expression  of  the  national  prejudice;  for  they  reproduced 

[130] 


BOOK  II]  JESUS  RETIRES 

in  the  very  terms  it  affected:  "The  Israelites  are  the  sons 
of  God,  the  Gentiles  are  dogs."  ^ 

Nothing  could  be  better  calculated  to  discourage  an  ordi- 
nary soul  than  this  harsh  response ;  but  the  Canaanite  had 
a  mother's  heart,  a  proselyte's  faith,  and  an  ingenuity  of 
mind  that  never  miscarries.  She  at  once  takes  up  the  pain- 
ful picture  the  Master  had  employed,  and,  with  as  much 
delicacy  as  humility,  she  gives  it  an  affectionate  and  some- 
what gracious  turn.  In  all  the  places  where  it  had  been, 
the  genius  of  Greece  had  left  traces  of  its  brilliant  versa- 
tility. 

"Yea,  Lord,"  said  the  Phoenician,  "for  the  whelps  also 
eat  of  the  crumbs  that  fall  from  the  table  of  their  mas- 
ters." She  accepts  the  humble  part  left  to  her,  and,  ex- 
plaining the  little  that  she  desires,  she  has  not  a  doubt  she 
will  obtain  it.  She  aspires  not  to  the  loaf  itself ;  the  small 
crumbs  will  satisfy  her ;  she  does  not  pretend  to  seat  her- 
self among  the  guests ;  let  her  only  pass  around  beneath 
the  table  and  gather  up  what  is  dropped.  Her  response 
shone  with  faith,  simplicity,  and  appropriateness,  and 
she  draws  from  us  the  same  cry  of  admiration  that 
came  from  the  mouth  of  the  Son  of  God :  "O  woman ! 
great  is  thy  faith;  be  it  done  to  thee  as  thou  wilt;  go 
thy  way,  the  devil  is  gone  out  of  thy  daughter."  It  was 
true. 

The  faith  of  this  woman  of  Canaan,  like  a  will  of  su- 
preme power,  had  just  done  violence  to  the  Saviour.  In 
fact,  Jesus,  amid  all  the  events  of  the  struggle  He  seemed 
to  be  undergoing,  had  willed  that  the  Apostles  should  be- 
hold the  thrilling  surprises  that  the  Gentiles  held  in  store 

°  Josephus,  Antiq.,  vi,  9,  4.  See  Lightfoot  and  Wetstein  on  this  passage 
of  St.  Matt.  XV,  26,  and  Eisenmenger,  Endeckt.  Judenih.,  i,  713.  ^  In  Midr. 
Till.,  fol.  6,  3,  we  read:  "Nationes  mundi  assimilantur  canibus";  and  in 
Pirke  Eliezer,  c.  29:  "Qui  comedit  cum  idololatra,  similis  est  comedenti 
cum  cane;  uterque  incircumcisus  est." 

[131] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

for  them.  Blossoms  like  these,  springing  suddenly  be- 
neath their  feet,  were  a  promise  of  a  wonderful  harvest  in 
that  time  when  the  Lord's  workers  should  turn  to  the 
cultivation  of  this  rude  but  singularly  fertile  soil.  This 
cure  showed  once  again  Jesus'  power  in  accomplishing  at 
a  distance  the  most  astonishing  miracles.  It  has  been  ob- 
served that  the  two  prodigies  of  this  class,  reported  in  the 
Gospel,  are  accorded  to  two  believers  from  among  the 
pagans,  the  centurion  and  the  woman  of  Canaan,  as  if 
the  Master  had  wished  to  show  that  thus  the  Gentiles 
would  be  efficaciously  succoured  and  saved,  without  be- 
ing honoured  like  the  Jews  with  His  visible  and  personal 
presence. 

We  have  no  further  details  concerning  Our  Lord's  stay 
in  these  countries.  And  yet  how  interesting  it  would  be 
for  us  to  know  the  Saviour's  thoughts  of  the  pagan  civili- 
sation of  which  Tyre  and  Sidon  were  two  illustrious 
daughters.  What  were  the  Master's  words  when  from  the 
heights  of  the  mountain  range  of  Lebanon,  if  not  from 
a  nearer  point.  He  saw  the  walls  of  these  two  cities,  even 
yet  so  wealthy  and  proud  after  their  awful  catastrophes, 
their  palaces  of  white  marble  outlined  against  the  blue  sea, 
and  the  temples  to  which  Baal  and  Astarte  had  always 
drawn  their  adorers?  What  did  He  think  of  those  work- 
shops, rudimentary  no  doubt,  but  prodigious  for  the 
times,  in  which  they  fashioned  glass,  or  manufactured  the 
purple  dye,  and  from  which  the  smoke  rose  up  to  an  azure 
sky ;  of  those  numberless  ships  which,  like  a  great  swarm, 
came  and  went  unceasingly,  bearing  to  their  metropolises 
the  treasures  of  the  entire  world?  All  this  was  visible 
from  the  heights  of  Galilee.  Before  long  among  their 
rich  cargoes  would  come,  poor  and  unknown,  like  worth- 
less merchandise,  these  disciples  of  the  Nazarene  who  to-day 
in  amazement  contemplated  this  strange  spectacle.     Over 

[132] 


BooKii]  JESUS  RETIRES 

these  same  waves  of  the  Mediterranean,  they  would  soon 
be  seen  themselves  bearing  away  to  every  inhabited  land 
something  more  precious  than  silk  and  pearls  and  purple : 
the  great  light  of  the  Gospel  and  the  sublime  secret  of 
the  world's  redemption. 

According  to  a  singular  tradition  of  the  Greek  Church, 
Jesus  then  embarked  at  Tyre  or  at  Sidon,  and  went  to 
Cyprus  or  even  as  far  as  Mount  Athos.  The  Evangelists' 
silence  as  to  such  a  voyage  would  be  surprising,  and  no 
serious  attention  can  be  given  to  so  ill  founded  a  claim.* 
Less  improbable  perhaps  is  the  supposition  that  in  order 
to  reach  the  Decapolis,  the  Saviour  followed  the  sea-route 
by  Ptolemais  as  far  as  Carmel.  From  there,  proceeding 
along  the  southern  border  of  Galilee,  He  would  have  come, 
through  a  country  where  Pharisees  were  rarely  to  be  found, 
to  Scythopolis,  the  only  city  of  the  Decapolis  west  of  the 
Jordan.  Then,  passing  through  Pella,  Gadara,  and  Hip- 
pos, He  would  have  reached,  according  to  the  expression 
of  the  Evangelist,^  the  very  heart  of  the  confederation. 
If  we  reject  this  hypothesis,  we  must  admit  that  Jesus 
preferred  the  mountain-bordered  valleys  of  Lebanon  and 
of  Anti-Lebanon,  in  order  to  reach,  through  Damascus  or 
Caesarea-Philippi,  the  confines  of  the  Decapolis.  But  we 
must  not  conceal,  in  this  latter  itinerary,  either  the  diffi- 
culties of  the  route  or  the  necessity  of  seeking  for  the 
Decapolis,  properly  so  called,  in  a  direction  where  it  did 
not  lie,  nor,  in  fine,  must  we  ignore  the  illogical  manner  of 
having  the  Saviour  pass  by  Csesarea  without  stopping 
there,  when  we  know  that  He  betook  Himself  to  that  place 
a  few  days  later  to  explore  its  neighbourhood. 

*  It  is  evident  from  St.  Matt,  xv,  21,  22,  that  Jesus  did  not  even  go  into 
the  land  of  Tyre  and  Sidon,  but  only  on  the  coasts  or  frontiers  (els  ra  nfpv), 
and  that  the  woman  of  Canaan  came  from  these  lands  to  find  Him  (dirb  tuv 
dpiuv  i^e\6ov<Ta). 

5  St.  Mark  vii,  31,  "through  the  midst." 

[133] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

The  cities  comprised  in  the  Decapolis — originally  ten, 
as  the  name  indicates,  and  later  seventeen  ^ — had  estab- 
lished a  kind  of  league  against  the  depredations  of  the 
Bedouins.  Each  of  these  cities  preserved  its  own  separate 
municipal  existence,  and,  from  the  time  of  the  conquest  of 
Syria  by  the  Romans,  lived  under  the  immediate  authority 
of  Rome.  The  great  majority  of  their  inhabitants  were 
pagans.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  Jesus  spent  some  time 
among  them,  far  removed  from  Herod's  domination  and 
from  the  influence  of  the  Pharisees,  in  order  to  accustom 
His  disciples  to  contact  with  paganism  and  to  excite  in 
their  hearts  the  desire  of  advancing,  later  on,  into  the 
midst  of  the  Gentiles  who  were  to  be  their  conquest.  Some, 
however,  have  thought  that  He  meant  to  evangelise  only 
the  lost  sheep  of  Israel  among  the  pagans ;  for  they  attrib- 
uted to  this  same  intention  the  journey  He  had  made  to 
the  frontiers  of  Tyre,  where  stood  the  ancient  cities  ceded 
to  Hiram  by  King  Solomon. 

However  that  may  be,  Jesus  performed  miracles  there. 
St.  Mark  tells  of  only  one ;  but  St.  Matthew  gives  a  full 
and  glorious  summary  of  them  all. 

The  first  sick  man  for  whom  they  sought  a  cure  was  a 
deaf-mute.''^  Evidently  Jesus'  reputation  as  a  thauma- 
turgus  had  already  spread  in  this  country.  The  demoniac 
of  Gadara  might  have  estabhshed  it,  and,  besides,  the  dis- 

'  Pliny  (Hist.  Nat.,  v,  17),  gives  ten:  Damascus,  Philadelphia,  Raphana, 
Scythopolis,  Gadara  on  the  Hieromax,  Hippos,  Dion,  Pella,  Gerasa,  Canatha. 
Ptolemj'  repeats  nearly  all  these  names  and  also  seven  others.  {Tab.  iv, 
Asice.)  Josephus  (Aufobiog.,  65,  74)  says  that  this  confederation  was  gov- 
erned by  a  kind  of  council  composed  of  the  leading  citizens  of  each  city, 
\vluch,  subject  to  the  Roman  Proconsul,  administered  the  affairs  of  the  prov- 
ince of  Syria.     (Cf.  Strabo,  xvi,  'l.) 

'  It  is  true,  the  term  used  by  St.  Mark,  fj.oyi\a.\os,  signifies  more  especially 
one  who  stanuners,  or  v/iio  speaks  only  with  difficulty.  But  as  the  crowd 
soon  afterward  glorifies  Je  us  because  He  makes  the  dumb  to  speak  (aKiKovs), 
and  as  deafness  and  dumbness  usually  accompany  each  other,  it  seems 
natural  to  call  this  invahd  a  deaf-mute.  He  is  quihfied  as  Koxphv  fj.oyt\d\ov. 
He  was  deaf  and  spoke  with  difficulty  and  very  poorly. 

[  13i  ] 


BOOK  II]  JESUS  RETIRES 

ciples  did  their  duty  as  Apostles  in  relating  to  all  who 
the  Master  was  and  what  He  could  accomphsh.  It  was 
thought  that  He  gave  health  to  the  sick  by  a  simple  touch. 
This  was  true;  but  since  His  miracles  were  intended  to 
engender  or  to  strengthen  faith  in  souls,  He  usually  sought 
to  arouse  religious  sentiments  in  the  sick  man  before  He 
effected  a  cure.  In  this  instance,  the  deaf-mute  could  not 
hear  His  words,  and  so  Jesus  had  recourse  to  exterior  signs 
in  order  to  impress  him.  When  He  had  separated  him 
from  the  crowd  He  took  him  aside,  put  His  fingers  into 
his  ears,  and  touched  his  tongue  with  His  spittle.  Then, 
looking  up  to  Heaven  that  he  might  know  that  the  miracle 
was  coming  from  God,  He  heaved  a  deep  sigh,  and  cried 
out :  "Ephpheta !"  ^  that  is  to  say :  "Be  thou  opened !" 
Like  all  things  else,  unable  to  resist  the  Master's  bidding, 
the  ears  of  the  deaf  man  were  opened,  the  bonds  that  held 
his  tongue  were  burst,  and,  instead  of  putting  forth  inar- 
ticulate sounds,  he  began  to  speak  like  other  men.  The 
admiration  of  the  spectators  and  the  joy  of  the  man  who 
was  cured  were  great.  In  vain  Jesus  recommended  silence, 
that  He  might  avoid  the  crowding  of  the  multitudes  bring- 
ing their  sick.  The  more  He  bade  them  be  silent,  the  more 
tliey  proclaimed  His  omnipotence.  So  that  in  a  short  time 
the  eastern  shore  of  the  lake  presented  the  same  spectacle 
of  enthusiasm,  of  popular  excitement,  of  miracles,  as  the 
neighbourhood  of  Capharnaum.  In  vain  did  He  retire  to 
more  mountainous  and  more  desert-like  localities ;  they  has- 
tened to  rejoin  Him.  There  He  gave  speech  to  the  dumb, 
power  of  motion  to  paralytics,  and  sight  to  the  blind. 
He  cured  the  maimed.^  In  a  word,  He  healed  all  the  sick 
that  were  brought  to  His  feet.     The  multitudes  gave  loud 

'  This  is  a  Syriac  word,  like  so  many  others  quoted  by  the  Evangehsts, 
especially  by  St.  Mark.  It  is  the  imperative  form;  ethpael,  from  pfiatha,  and 
means  "  he  opened." 

^  KvKKovs,  St.  Matt.  XV,  30. 

[135] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [paht  second 

utterance  to  their  admiration.  The  real  Jews  were  proud 
that  a  prophet  of  their  rehgion  should  be  seen  accomplish- 
ing such  great  miracles.  The  pagans  surrendered  to  this 
evidence,  and  glorified  the  God  of  Israel. 

Among  these  miracles  occurred  that  one  by  which  Jesus 
repeated  the  multiplication  of  the  loaves.^ ^  Here  again 
He  had  pity  on  the  multitudes  who  had  followed  Him  and 
had  eaten  nothing  for  three  days.  This  solicitude  on  the 
Saviour's  part  with  regard  to  the  material  needs  of  the 
people  after  He  had  given  them  spiritual  food,  has  in  it 
something  deeply  moving  and  paternal.  "If  I  shall  send 
them  away  fasting  to  their  homes,"  said  Jesus,  "they  will 
faint  in  the  way,  for  some  of  them  have  come  from  afar 
off."  It  was  not  possible  for  Him  to  dismiss  them  in 
such  circumstances.  Thus  every  day  Divine  Goodness 
reasons  in  behalf  of  mankind.  It  is  because  a  Providence 
watches  over  them  that  God's  servants  may  lay  aside  all 
anxiety  for  the  morrow. 

The  Apostles  had  not  forgotten  the  first  miraculous 
repast.  They  at  once  suspected  that  Jesus  wished  to 
repeat  that  favour.  "Whence  then,"  said  they  to  the 
Master,  "should  we  have  so  many  loaves  in  the  desert  as 
to  fill  so  great  a  multitude.'"'  By  a  similar  remark  they 
had  once  before  moved  Him  to  manifest  His  power,  and 

'"  If  St.  Matthew  and  St.  Mark  had  not  already  narrated  the  first  multiplica- 
tion there  is  no  doubt  tliat  the  critics  would  have  endeavoured  to  combine 
the  two  miracles  as  one  on  account  of  their  similarity  to  each  other,  and  per- 
haps even  to  deny  them  because  of  their  divergencies.  This  fact,  therefore, 
ought  to  make  exegetes  very  circumspect,  where  there  is  a  question  of 
uniting  in  one  event  narratives  which  differences  of  detail  have  caused  to  be 
separated,  or  of  calling  in  doubt  the  accuracy  of  the  Evangelists  because 
in  incidents  almost  analogous  they  sometimes  seem  to  contradict  each  other. 
It  may  sometimes  be  that  there  are  two  events  where  we  seek  only  one,  and 
therefore,  as  in  the  present  case,  all  contradictions  vanish.  This  second 
multiplication  seems  to  have  taken  place  to  the  east  of  the  lake.  The 
current  tradition,  not  very  ancient,  places  it,  on  the  contrary,  to  the  west  of 
Tiberias,  after  having  located  the  other  to  the  south  of  Julias.  This  two- 
fold assertion  deserves  no  serious  attention. 

[136] 


BooKH]  JESUS  RETIRES 

therefore  they  intentionall}'^  repeat  it.  The  remembrance 
of  a  past  still  recent,  thus  called  forth,  is  a  discreet  request 
to  the  Master  to  exercise  His  mercy  once  again.  There  is 
a  striking  analogy  between  this  question  of  the  Apostles 
and  the  modest  invitation  Mary  had  addressed  to  her  Son 
when  the  wine  failed  at  the  wedding  in  Cana.  The  disci- 
ples were  evidently  advancing  in  their  knowledge  of  the 
Master.  Like  Mary,  they  were  sure  of  His  power,  and 
with  a  confidence  like  hers  they  appealed  to  His  kindness 
of  heart. 

This  time  they  found  seven  loaves,  instead  of  five,  among 
the  people,  and  a  few  small  fishes.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  number  of  mouths  to  be  fed  was  considerable.  They 
counted  about  four  thousand  men.  When  all  were  seated, 
Jesus  as  before  blessed  the  scanty  food  that  lay  before 
Him.  Every  one  ate  what  he  needed  to  satisfy  his  hunger, 
and  there  were  still  left  seven  full  baskets.^  ^ 

Leaving  the  crowd  no  time  to  express  its  great  admira- 
tion, the  Master  went  into  a  boat  and  passed  over  to  the 
other  shore  of  the  lake. 

"  It  is  quite  plain  that  St.  Matthew  and  St.  Mark  have  preserved  this  story 
of  the  second  multiplication  of  loaves  with  no  intention  of  overshadowing 
the  prodigy  of  the  first.  In  fact,  everything  in  the  second  is  relatively  on  a 
smaller  scale.  It  is  a  desire  faithfully  to  consign  what  they  know  to  writing, 
and  not  the  idea  of  increasing  the  Master's  glory  by  freely  accepting  a 
flattering  legend,  that  guided  their  pen.  Blind  enthusiasm  would  have  en- 
deavoured to  eclipse  the  former  mu-acle.  Scrupulous  accuracy  has  repro- 
duced the  second  as  a  simple  diminutive  of  the  first. 


[137] 


CHAPTER    VI 

AS    HE   APPROACHES    CAPHARNAUM, 

JESUS   FINDS   THAT   THE   DANGER 

STILL  EXISTS 

The  Pharisees  Have  Allied  Themselves  with  Herod's 
Partisans — On  Landing  Jesus  Sees  Them  Approach- 
ing— They  Again  Demand  a  Sign — Why? — Jesus 
Replies,  Unmasks  Their  Hypocrisy,  and  Immedi- 
ately Departs — His  Thoughts  with  Regard  to  His 
Disciples — The  Leaven  of  the  Pharisees  and  of 
Herod — Their  Great  Mistake — They  Understand 
at  Last.  (St.  Matthew  xv,  39;  xvi,  1-12;  St.  Mark 
viii,  10-21.) 

In  all  probability  Dalmanutha  and  the  territory  of 
Magedan  were  to  the  west  of  the  Lake  of  Genesareth,  and 
consequently  not  far  from  either  Tiberias  or  Capharnaum.^ 

*  The  geographical  details  here  given  by  the  two  Evangelists  are  not  very 
precise.  According  to  St.  Matthew,  they  landed  on  the  coast  of  Magdala, 
as  some  manuscripts  say,  or  of  Magedan,  as  is  fomid  in  the  most  numerous 
and  the  best  of  them.  If  it  was  Magdala,  it  is  easy  to  locate  that  village ; 
if  Magedan,  our  uncertainty  becomes  complete  for  the  want  of  historical  data 
in  antiquity.  St.  Jerome  and  Eusebius,  only,  tell  us  that,  in  their  days,  there 
was  to  the  north  of  the  lake  a  village  called  Magedena.  (See  Caspari,  Chronol. 
and  Geog.  Introd.,  p.  105.)  According  to  St.  Mark,  they  disembarked  near 
Dalmanutha.  But  this  name  too  is  not  found  anywhere,  either  in  Josephus 
or  in  the  Talmud.  This  detail  is  therefore  as  unsatisfactory  as  the  former. 
Quite  recently  P.  Van  Kasteren  (ReiK  BibL,  Jan.,  1897),  in  a  very  interesting 
article,  suggested  identifying  El  Delhamiyeh,  seven  kilometres  south  of  the 
Jake  and  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Jordan,  with  Dalmanutha,  both  names  con- 

[  138  ] 


BOOK  II]       JESUS  FINDS  DANGER  EXISTS 

Jesus  must  have  been  eager  to  see  again  the  Httle  Gali- 
lean flock  whom  He  had  left  for  the  time  being.  He  de- 
sired to  strengthen  their  faith  and  to  encourage  their  hopes. 
His  enemies  were  going  to  dispute  this  right.  The  agita- 
tion of  the  Pharisees  was  far  from  being  calmed.  That 
jealous  sect  had  in  their  fury  gone  so  far  as  to  join  hands 
with  the  Sadducees,  their  most  implacable  enemies,  in  order 
to  share  with  them  their  hatred  of  the  Saviour.  It  is 
not  a  rare  thing  for  religious  hypocrisy  to  consent  to 
become  the  ally  of  impiety,  when  it  is  its  interest  to  do  so. 
As  the  Sadducees  were  the  friends  and  partisans  of  Herod, 
through  them  the  Pharisees  sought  the  support  of  the 
tetrarch  himself. 

Thus  ready  to  inflict  a  blow,  they  awaited  only  a  favour- 
able opportunity.  Scarcely  had  Jesus  reached  the  west- 
ern shore  of  the  lake,  when,  advised  of  His  presence,  they 
hastened  toward  Him,  no  longer  to  engage  Him  in  con- 
troversy— for  that  was  a  sort  of  warfare  they  waged  with 
but  indifferent  success — but  to  call  upon  Him  to  show  a 
sign  in  the  firmament.  They  had  already  once  defied  Him 
in  this  manner,  and  He  had  consented  to  offer  them  but 
one  sign,  and  that  not  in  the  present  but  in  the  future, 
not  in  the  heavens  but  in  the  depths  of  the  earth.  By 
insisting  they  might,  if  He  made  a  like  response  now,  suc- 
ceed in  placing  His  omnipotence  in  doubt.  Nothing  more 
was  needed  to  demean  Him  in  the  eyes  of  the  multitude 
and  so  to  hasten  His  destruction.  Indeed,  it  is  not  easily 
seen  what  manner  of  sign  it  was  that  they  sought.  Was 
it  the  Son  of  Man  advancing  in  the  clouds  to  the  Ancient 
of  days,  as  Daniel  had  contemplated  Him  ?  ^     Was  it  their 

taining  the  three  consonants  in  the  same  order ;  and  Magedan  with  Ma'ad, 
which  is  more  to  the  south-east.  According  to  this  learned  rehgious,  the 
country  of  Dakoanutha  was  the  northern  part  of  Ghor,  that  is,  south  of  the 
lake. 

'  Daniel  vii,  13. 

[139] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

desire  to  behold  the  sun  and  moon  covered  with  a  veil,  and 
the  stars  withdrawing  their  light,  as  Joel  had  foretold  ?  ^ 
These,  indeed,  were  Messianic  signs  long  since  prophesied. 
But,  perhaps,  the  Pharisees'  question  had  not  this  bear- 
ing. Since,  on  two  occasions,  Jesus  had  just  multiplied 
the  loaves  in  the  desert,  it  is  not  impossible  that  the  miracle 
demanded  was  the  sight  of  the  manna  falling  from  heaven  * 
to  nourish  them,  as  it  did  for  their  fathers  in  the  desert. 
In  any  case,  the  Master  pays  no  heed  to  the  achievements 
of  the  great  men  of  the  Old  Testament,  Moses,  Josue,  Sam- 
uel, Elias,  Isaias,  nor  to  the  exact  wishes  of  His  present 
interlocutors.  He  has  perceived  the  perverse  intentions 
provoked  by  His  omnipotence ;  He  will  respond  by  unmask- 
ing the  baseness  and  bad  faith  of  His  adversaries.  No 
doubt  the  heavens  are  a  beautiful  book,  and  they  should 
be  proud  of  their  ability  to  read  therein ;  but  they  would 
do  better  were  they  to  seek  for  signs  nearer  at  hand. 
Their  competence  would  be,  perhaps,  the  more  easily  ad- 
mitted. "When  it  is  evening,"  says  Jesus  Ironically,  "you 
say:  It  will  be  fair  weather,  for  the  sky  is  red.  And  in 
the  morning:  To-day  there  will  be  a  storm,  for  the  sky 
is  red  and  lowering.  You  know  then,  how  to  discern  the 
face  of  the  skj^ ;  and  can  you  not  know  the  signs  of  the 
times.'"'  How  is  it  that  these  clear-sighted  teachers  who 
were  fain  to  behold  amid  the  clouds  the  Son  of  Man  fore- 
told by  Daniel,  do  not  perceive  that  the  term  of  the  "weeks" 
fixed  by  the  same  prophet  is  fast  approaching  at  last? 
If  it  is  the  star  of  Jacob  that  they  long  to  see  on  the 
horizon,  why  have  they  not  noticed,  first,  that  the  sceptre 
has  fallen  from  the  hands  of  Juda?     How  can  they  pre- 

^  Joel  iii,  15. 

*  The  text  has :  in  rov  ohpavov  or  oirb  toG  ohpavov,  and,  from  this,  seems  to 
imply  a  sign  coming  down  from  heaven  as  the  manna  did,  rather  than  a 
sign  remaining  fixed,  like  a  new  and  sudden  phenomenon  in  the  sidereal 
world. 

[140] 


BooKii]       JESUS   FINDS  DANGER  EXISTS 

tend  to  draw  conclusions  from  a  single  sign  appearing  in 
the  heavens,  they  who  know  not  what  to  deduce  from  the 
fulfilment  of  so  many  prophecies  and  from  the  achievement 
of  so  many  miracles  on  earth?  To  aspire  to  read  so  high 
when  they  can  discern  nothing  close  at  hand,  is  presump- 
tion. "A  wicked  and  adulterous  generation,"  says  Jesus 
with  a  profound  sigh,  "seeketh  after  a  sign,  and  a  sign 
shall  not  be  given  it,  but  the  sign  of  Jonas,  the  prophet." 
And  leaving  them  there  with  their  desire  to  circumvent 
Him,  He  embarked  once  more  and  pushed  off  in  a  north- 
erly direction. 

Coasting  along  the  well-known  shores  where,  on  its  rocky 
promontory,  Capharnaum  proudly  rose  with  its  little  cu- 
polas and  its  graceful  terraced  dwellings.  His  soul  must 
have  been  saddened  by  bitter  reflections.  His  enemies 
were  seeking  to  destroy  His  influence  even  in  those  lands 
which  He  had  dewed  with  His  own  sweat,  which  He  had 
evangelised  with  His  own  lips,  and  astonished  with  His 
miracles.  What  was  to  become  of  His  nascent  Church.'* 
Were  the  faithful  whom  He  had  laboriously  gathered  to- 
gether, destined  to  abandon  Him  in  betrayal  at  the  most 
solemn  moment  of  His  struggle  .f*  Was  Satan  able  to  de- 
stroy with  a  blow  the  fruit  of  so  much  patience,  sanctity, 
and  mercy.?  The  situation  appeared  as  grave  as  the  day 
on  which  He  had  forced  his  disciples  to  declare  themselves 
when  He  said  to  them:  "Will  ye  also  go  away?"  His 
adversaries'  power  and  malice  were  great,  and  the  waver- 
ing of  His  best  proselytes  was  almost  a  ground  of  despair. 
On  the  one  hand,  their  alliance  with  the  Sadducees,  Herod's 
partisans,  assured  to  the  Pharisees  a  force  brutal  in  its 
strength.  For  plain  folk  this  is  an  argument  of  weight. 
They  readily  bend  before  those  whom  they  deem  the 
stronger.  On  the  other  hand,  did  not  He  Himself  appear 
in  their  eyes  to  have  lost  His  early  energy?     For  some 

[141] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [pakt  second 

time  they  had  seen  Him  fleeing  Hke  one  proscribed.  Was 
not  this  trial  beyond  the  strength  of  poor  GaHleans,  led  on 
at  first  by  the  notion  of  following  the  future  theocratic 
King,  and  now  disconcerted  by  an  unexpected  turn  of 
events?  Have  not  the  many  objections  which  have  arisen 
of  themselves,  and  which,  perhaps,  have  been  multiplied 
around  them,  troubled  their  souls  and  shaken  their  faith? 
"Take  heed,"  said  Jesus,  in  a  tone  of  tender  solicitude, 
"and  beware  of  the  leaven  of  the  Pharisees  and  of  the 
leaven  of  the  Sadducees  and  of  Herod."  ^  These  words 
came  from  the  Master's  lips  at  the  very  moment  when  the 
disciples,  absorbed  in  thoughts  of  a  wholly  material  order, 
were  worrying  because  they  had  departed  without  having 
taken  provisions.  They  had  only  one  loaf  left.  Believing 
that  Jesus  was  aware  of  their  plight,  and  interpreting 
literally  what  they  had  just  heard,  they  understood  it  as 
being  a  warning  never  again  to  accept  food  unless  they 
knew  whence  it  came ;  as  though  there  were  ground  for 
fearing  that  the  Pharisees  and  the  followers  of  Herod, 
in  their  unpitying  hatred,  might  have  defiled  or  even 
poisoned  it. 

This  was  a  gross  mistake;  and  if  the  Master's  thought 
was  on  a  lofty  plane,  that  of  the  disciples  was.  Indeed,  very 
low.  Sad  at  finding  them  ever  so  dull  and  so  material, 
Jesus  said :  "Why  do  you  think  within  yourselves,  O  you  of 
little  faith,  for  that  you  have  no  bread?  Do  ye  not  yet 
know  nor  understand?  Have  you  still  your  hearts  blinded? 
Having  eyes  see  you  not,  and  having  ears  hear  you  not, 
neither  do  you  remember  when  I  broke  the  five  loaves  among 
five  thousand,  how  many  baskets  full  of  fragments  took 
you  up?"  They  answered  "Twelve,"  "When  also  the  seven 

^  St.  Mark  viii,  15,  has  "leaven  of  Herod,"  whereas  St.  Matt,  xvi,  6, 
has  "leaven  of  the  Sadducees."  This  is  not  a  divergence,  the  Sadducees 
being  a  political  party  on  whom  Herod  relied. 

[142] 


BOOK  II]       JESUS  FINDS   DANGER  EXISTS 

loaves  among  four  thousand,  how  many  baskets  of  frag- 
ments took  you  up?"  They  answered  "Seven."  "Why  do 
you  not  understand  that  it  was  not  concerning  bread  I 
said  to  you:  'Beware  of  the  leaven  of  the  Pharisees  and 
Sadducees'  ?" 

On  reflection,  the  disciples  understood  that  the  leaven  of 
the  Pharisees  and  their  allies  must  be  taken  as  meaning 
the  calumnies  and  secret  jealousy  of  these  sectaries.  Noth- 
ing has  a  surer  influence  upon  the  masses  than  the  spirit 
of  calumny  and  scepticism,  when  spread  by  hypocrisy  and 
malice.  Sometimes  it  blackens,  sometimes,  again,  it  de- 
vours, and  again  it  turns  to  ridicule.  It  always  falsifies ; 
but  gradually  it  changes  public  opinion,  as  the  leaven,  by 
its  sharpness,  transforms  the  dough  into  which  it  is  put. 
Then  by  a  sudden  veering,  the  mob  detests  and  accuses 
those  whom  the  day  before  it  had  loved  and  honoured.  The 
working  of  calumny,  though  secret  and  slow,  is  none  the 
less  certain.  This  is  Jesus'  explanation  of  all  the  injury 
that  had  been  done  Him  in  Capharnaum;  an  injury  that 
threatens  to  gain  over  even  the  Apostles  themselves.  Let 
not  the  hearts  of  the  Twelve,  at  least,  be  taken  from  Him ! 
The  present  hour  more  than  any  other  exacts  from  them 
absolute  fidelity  and  most  generous  devotion.  He  has  no 
joys  or  triumphs  to  promise  them.  The  future  is  full  of 
sorrow,  and  to  accustom  them  to  the  awful  prospect  be- 
fore them,  He  feels  Himself  moved  to  raise  imperceptibly 
the  veil  that  conceals  it. 


[143] 


CHAPTER    VII 

ON   THE   WAY  TO   C^SAREA- 
PHILIPPI 

The  Blind  Man  of  Bethsaida  —  Retreat  Toward 
C^SAREA — The  Important  Question  :  "Who  Do  Men 
Say  that  I  Am?" — The  Opinions  of  the  People — 
Peter's  Striking  Confession  —  Tu  Es  Christus  — 
Simon's  Merit — Tu  Es  Petrus — The  Indefectible 
Church  Shall  Have  a  Head — Jesus  Foretells  His 
Own  Death — The  Scandal  Because  of  the  Mes- 
siah's Humiliation — Hard  Lesson  Given  to  Peter 
— Beautiful  Teaching  Given  the  Multitude  Con- 
cerning the  Christian  Spirit.  (St.  Matthew  xvi, 
13-28 ;  St.  Mark  viii,  22-38,  and  ix,  1 ;  St.  Luke  ix, 
18-27.) 

Jesus  and  His  disciples  disembarked  on  the  northern 
shore  of  the  lake.  This  was  Philip's  territory.  There- 
fore they  no  longer  had  reason  to  fear  any  hostile  attack 
attempted  under  the  patronage  of  Antipas.  The  two 
brothers,  as  we  have  already  said,  bore  no  resemblance  to 
each  other,  either  in  their  political  views  or  in  their  private 
conduct.  Philip  had  succeeded  in  procuring  his  own  hap- 
piness and  that  of  his  subjects  by  living  without  external 
show,  free  from  disturbing  ambition,  occupied  solely  in 
the  building  of  new  cities  within  his  states  or  in  the  em- 
bellishing of  those  already  estabhshed. 

But  was  it  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Jordan  that  they 
[  144] 


BOOK  II]     ON  THE  WAY  TO   CESAREA-PHILIPPI 

landed?  Nothing  obliges  us  to  believe  so,  for  although 
He  meant  to  escape,  for  a  time,  from  the  jurisdiction  of 
Herod,  it  is  not  clear  that  Jesus  had  absolutely  bound 
Himself  to  flee  from  it  in  His  latest  Apostolic  journey- 
ings.  It  is  certain  that  He  had  decided  not  to  appear 
in  any  centre  of  importance  except  Jerusalem.  Why 
admit  that  He  made  an  exception  in  favour  of  Julias? 
W^e  are  therefore  inchned  to  believe,  in  opposition  to  the 
general  opinion,  that  they  disembarked  simply  near  Beth- 
saida,  Peter's  home,  and  that  there  they  were  enabled  to 
leave  the  boat  in  safe  hands,  while  they  went  to  spend  a 
few  days  among  the  foot-hills  of  Hermon. 

Our  supposition  is  strengthened  by  the  fact  that  Jesus 
was  so  well  known  as  a  thaumaturgus  in  Bethsaida  ^  that 
no  sooner  had  He  arrived  than  He  saw  some  of  the  people 
coming  to  Him  with  a  blind  man  and  eagerly  asking  Him 
to  cure  him  by  simple  touch.  It  was  a  good  opportunity 
to  show  to  the  Apostles  that  His  power  had  not  diminished. 
He  therefore  consented  to  work  this  miracle.  But  in 
order  to  avoid  the  assembling  of  a  crowd  and  other  similar 
demands.  He  took  the  blind  man  by  the  hand  and  led  him 
out  of  the  town,^  into  the  country.  There,  with  some  pre- 
liminaries worthy  of  notice.  He  proceeded  to  cure  him. 

The  blind  man  had  not  come  to  Jesus  of  his  own  accord. 
He  had  been  dragged  into  His  presence  or  even  carried 
there,  as  the  text  seems  to  say.  He  therefore  had  scarcely 
any  faith  in  the  Messiah.  It  was  necessary  to  arouse  what 
little  he  had.  This  is  why  the  miracle,  instead  of  being 
sudden,  is  worked  only  gradually  together  with  the  growth 
of  the  man's  faith  itself.     Jesus  began  by  putting  spittle 

'  This  is  very  easily  understood  if  it  refers  to  that  Bethsaida  which,  like 
Corozain  and  Capharnaum,  had,  to  its  own  condemnation,  witnessed  so  many 
miracles  accomplished  within  its  walls.     {St.  Matt,  xi,  21.) 

^  St.  Mark  twice  uses  the  term  kc^jhtj,  which  could  not  be  said  of  Julias 
and  which  confirms  our  opinion. 

[145] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [pakt  second 

upon  the  eyes  of  the  unfortunate  man.  Then,  imposing 
His  hands  upon  him,  He  asked  him  if  he  saw  anything. 
The  bhnd  man  tried  to  look  and  said:  "I  see  men,  as  it 
were  trees  walking."  He  had  not  been  born  blind,  but 
had  become  so ;  otherwise  how  could  he  have  formed  such 
an  idea  of  men  or  of  trees  in  motion.  His  first  step  toward 
the  cure  excites  in  his  soul  not  only  the  desire  of  being 
perfectly  cured,  but  also  a  strong  confidence  in  this  chari- 
table physician.  It  is  at  this  moment,  when  his  faith  be- 
comes complete,  that  the  miracle  becomes  so  too.  Jesus 
again  touched  the  blind  man's  eyes  with  His  hands,  and 
the  light  thoroughly  penetrated  them.  The  man  at  once 
proclaimed  that  he  clearly  discerned  all  things  as  he  did 
before  he  became  blind. 

Sending  him  to  his  home,  Jesus  simply  gave  him  this 
advice:  "Go  into  thy  house,  and  if  thou  enter  into  the 
town,  tell  nobody."  Thus  was  the  Master  forced,  after 
having  done  good,  to  demand  silence  as  a  first  requital  of 
His  charity. 

Without  further  delay,  He  again  departed  in  search  of 
a  refuge  more  retired  elsewhere.  For  as  He  retraced  His 
steps  along  the  banks  of  the  Jordan,  He  passed  near  the 
basalt  bridge  of  the  daughters  of  Jacob,  and  thence  along 
the  eastern  shore  of  the  Lake  of  Merom,  and  finally,  through 
groves  of  oleander  and  terebinth,  to  the  regions  where  the 
sacred  river  has  its  source. 

Following  His  custom,  He  probably  passed  by  Caesarea, 
Philip's  capital  city,  without  visiting  it.  The  great  cen- 
tres, as  we  have  said,  did  not  please  Him.  The  sight  of 
the  corruption,  the  idolatry,  the  servility,  that  was  offi- 
cially spread  before  Him,  had  a  repellent  effect  upon  His 
pure  and  proudly  untrammelled  soul.  Perhaps  also  pru- 
dence counselled  Him  not  to  encounter  face  to  face  the 
foremost  representatives  of  the  public  power,  who  might 

[146] 


BooKiij     ON  THE  WAY  TO  CiESAREA-PHILIPPI 

with  one  powerful  stroke  disturb  the  economy  of  the  Mes- 
sianic plan.  That  is  why  He  did  not  announce  His  gospel 
either  in  Tiberias  or  in  Tyre,  in  Sidon,  in  Sichem,  or  in 
Samaria,  although  He  encountered  them  on  His  way. 
Caesarea,  in  particular,  was  full  of  painful  memories  of 
the  past  and  of  the  immoral  exhibition  of  paganism  in  the 
present.  Above  the  ancient  city  of  Dan,  which  had  wit- 
nessed the  adoration  of  the  Golden  Calf,  the  Greeks  had 
built  Paneas,  the  city  consecrated  to  Pan.  In  a  deep 
grotto  they  adored  this  god  of  shepherds ;  and  marble 
nymphs  and  satyrs  sported  around  this  picturesque  sanc- 
tuary. Philip,  regardless  of  the  pagan  customs  of  Paneas, 
had  established  there  the  seat  of  his  government  and  had 
wonderfully  embellished  the  city.^  The  name  of  Caesarea- 
Philippi,  which  it  bore,  honoured  at  the  same  time  both 
the  Caesar  of  Rome*  and  the  tetrarch  who  had  just 
restored  it. 

Jesus  spent  some  days  in  the  neighbouring  towns,  de- 
voting Himself  to  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel.  The  Irre- 
sistible charm  of  His  words,  the  superhuman  character  of 
His  works,  His  Inexhaustible  kindness,  readily  gained  over 
to  Him  the  Inhabitants  of  a  country  half  Jewish,  half 
idolatrous,  and  His  ministry  was  not  without  Its  fruits. 
The  Apostles,  more  tranquil  here  than  in  Galilee,  had  time 
to  examine  closely  the  life,  the  virtues,  and  the  superior 
nature  of  their  Master.  He  Himself  was  happy  to  see 
them  searching  Into  the  various  data  of  the  problem,  for 
He  was  preparing  to  propose  to  them  the  decisive  question 
on  which  seemed  to  depend  the  religious  future  of  mankind. 

'  Antiq.,  xviii,  3.  See  Notre  Voyage  aux  Pays  Bibliques,  vol.  ii,  p.  274 
et  seq. 

*  The  modern  village  of  Banias  recalls  the  site  and  the  name  of  the  ancient 
town.  The  ruins  there  are  as  beautiful  as  they  are  numerous.  The  grotto 
consecrated  to  the  god  Pan  is  still  seen  with  its  sculptured  niches  and  its 
pagan  inscriptions. 

[  147  ] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  secx)nd 

Had  they,  at  least,  who  now  for  so  long  a  time  had  been 
listening  to  His  teaching,  witnessing  His  miracles,  hear- 
ing the  aspirations  of  His  soul,  a  real  faith  in  His  Mes- 
sianic character?  And  if  they  had,  were  their  hearts  so 
deeply  penetrated  with  it  that  nothing,  not  even  the  scan- 
dal of  the  cross,  could  finally  endanger  it?  This  is  what 
must  be  known. 

In  truth,  the  hour  might  seem  poorly  chosen  for  de- 
manding a  precise  and  positive  profession  of  faith  from 
impressionable  men  avIio,  as  regards  the  person  of  their 
Master,  never  had  any  but  fleeting,  transient  ideas  which 
betrayed  themselves  in  exclamations  more  enthusiastic  than 
reasonable.  For  some  days  Jesus  had  performed  scarcely 
any  miracles,  and  the  multitudes,  filled  with  admiration 
and  hope,  had  disappeared,  while  He  Himself,  proscribed, 
seemed  to  escape  the  fury  of  His  enemies  only  by  fleeing 
into  desert  places  and  among  idolatrous  peoples. 

And  yet  this  was  the  psychological  moment  that  Jesus 
chose  to  put  His  solemn  question.  Previously  He  had 
spent  a  while  in  self-recollection  beneath  His  Father's  eye, 
and  had  prayed  for  those  whose  faith  He  was  about  to  test. 
His  soul  was  visibly  perplexed.  This  is  not  surprising, 
since  God  Himself,  notwithstanding  the  knowledge  which 
He  has  of  the  future,  seems  to  await  in  anxiety  the  response 
of  the  man  whom  temptation  tries.  He  rejoined  the  Apos- 
tles, and,  having  walked  with  them  some  time  in  silence,^ 
suddenly  He  asked  them:  "Who  do  men  say  that  the  Son 
of  Man  is?"^      This  abrupt  question  betrayed  the  holy 

*  St.  Luke  ix,  18,  who  says   notliing  of  Jesus'  journey  to  Ca-sarea,  sup)- 

Koses  that  this  scene  took  place  in  some  unknown  locality,  and  just  as  the 
laster  finished  praying.  Evidently  he  did  not  have  before  his  eyes  the  other 
two  Synoptics  telling  that  the  Saviour  was  at  the  time  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Cfiesarea-Philippi.  St.  Mark  viii,  27,  observes  that  the  question  was 
asked  iu  rp  ^5^,  as  they  went  along. 

'  The  text  of  St.  Matthew  variously  punctuated  may  have  the  following 
meanings  in  addition  to  the  one  above :  "  Who  do  men  say  that  I  am  ?    The 

[  148] 


BOOK  II]     ON   THE  WAY  TO   CiESAREA-PHlLIPPI 

impatience  of  His  soul.  The  Apostles  replied:  "Some, 
John  the  Baptist,  and  other  some,  Elias,  and  others,  Jere- 
mias,  or  one  of  the  prophets."  Thus,  after  the  fulfil- 
ment of  all  the  Messianic  prophecies,  after  fifteen  months 
of  miracles  and  so  many  lessons  of  truly  divine  wisdom, 
Jesus  seemed  to  the  people  nothing  more  than  an  extraor- 
dinary man,  a  precursor  of  the  Messiah.  To  some  His 
influence  over  the  multitudes  gives  the  idea  that  He  is 
John  the  Baptist,  risen  again  to  chastise  Herod  and  to 
return  the  sceptre  to  the  royal  race  of  Juda.  To  others, 
the  courageous  eloquence  with  which  He  checks  His  ad- 
versaries, His  astonishing  activity.  His  proud  indepen- 
dence give  rise  to  the  supposition  that  He  is  Elias,  come  to 
prepare  the  realisation  of  their  theocratic  dreams.  Many, 
carried  away  by  the  note  of  His  preaching,  which  was  as 
penetrating  as  remorse,  and  touched,  too,  by  His  air  of 
sad  resignation  and  His  suggestion  of  melancholy,  which 
recall  Jeremias  weeping  in  the  midst  of  his  fellow-citizens, 
take  Him  for  that  prophet.  Finally,  the  majority  appre- 
ciate His  part  in  Israel  only  in  a  general  way,  and,  seeing 
His  powerful  works,  are  content  to  say  that  one  of  the 
ancient  great  servants  of  God  has  come  back  to  life. 

This  account  of  the  popular  impressions  seemed  as  sin- 
cere as  it  was  complete.  On  hearing  it,  Jesus  manifested 
no  sign  of  the  painful  emotion  that  was  breaking  His  heart. 
Great  souls  frequently  maintain  perfect  serenity  beneath 
the  hardest  strokes  of  injustice.  In  a  loftier  world  they 
hear  the  applause  that  consoles  them  for  insults  here  below. 
In  the  joys  of  the  hypostatic  union  Jesus  found  strength 
to  be  at  all  times  greater  than  human  baseness  and  stronger 
than  the  ingratitude  of  those  to  whom  He  had  done  favours. 

Son  of  Man?  "  or  "  Who  do  they  say  I  am,  Who  am  the  Son  of  IVTan ? "  or 
again,  "What  Son  of  Man  do  they  say  I  am?  "  The  two  other  Synoptics 
represent  Jesus  as  saying  simply,  "  Who  do  men  say  that  I  am?  " 

[149] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

After  all,  this  was  only  the  opinion  of  the  multitude;  the 
Apostolic  college  had  reserved  its  own ;  and  this,  if  correct, 
might  well  comfort  Him  for  the  insufficiency  of  the  former. 
What  was  their  idea  of  their  Master  ?  They  must  be  forced 
to  declare  it.  Their  reply  would  say  if  the  Church 
was  yet  unborn,  or  if,  in  fine,  by  a  splendid  profession 
of  faith,  she  deserved  to  be  accepted  henceforward  as  a 
living  reality. 

With  an  especial  solemnity  that  bade  them  weigh  well 
their  response  and  in  a  tenderly  reproachful  tone  that 
seemed  to  dictate  its  sense.  He  said :  "And  who  do  you  say 
that  I  am?"  In  the  grave  and  dignified  attitude  of  a 
father  deferring  his  cause  to  the  tribunal  of  his  children, 
Jesus  stood  before  them,  with  folded  arms,  penetrating 
them  no  doubt  with  His  powerful  gaze,  while  He  awaited 
their  reply.  Peter  had  it  all  ready,  and,  by  his  ardent, 
impressionable  nature,  accustomed  to  speak  the  first,  he 
gave  way  to  none  on  this  occasion.  "Thou,"  he  exclaimed, 
with  the  tone  of  conviction  of  a  man  inspired,  "Thou  art 
the  CHRIST,  THE  SON  OF  THE  LIVING  GOD."  As 
we  hear  this  fervent,  free-spoken  declaration,  we  seem 
yet  to  see  the  sinewy  hand  of  the  son  of  Jona  stretched 
out  energetically  toward  Jesus  to  accentuate  with  special 
vigour  this  admirable  profession  of  faith.  It  was  a 
sublime  scene ;  every  one's  soul  vibrated  in  unison  with  that 
of  Peter.  The  Master  was  filled  with  happiness.  The 
Church  had  formulated  its  first  creed.^  Henceforth  noth- 
ing shall  be  final  or  authentic  unless  it  pass  by  this  same 
mouth  of  Simon  Peter,  who  is  become  the  official  organ  of 
the  Apostolate.       The  ardour  of  his  faith,  the  spontane- 

'  No  doubt,  upon  several  other  occasions  the  disciples  had  recognised  the 
Messianic  character  of  Jesus,  but  it  was  in  the  agitation  of  enthusiasm,  or, 
so  to  speak,  of  surprise,  that  they  had  let  their  confession  fall  from  their  lips. 
Here  their  minds  are  calm.  The  question  gives  them  the  opportunity  for 
reflection,  and  the  reply  is  the  exact  expression  of  most  certain  convictions. 

[  150  ] 


BOOK  II]     ON  THE  WAY  TO   CESAREA-PHILIPPI 

ity  of  his  testimony,  the  sincerity  of  his  love,  have  gained 
him  this  high  prerogative.  Several,  perhaps,  believed  and 
loved  as  much  as  he ;  but,  more  timid  or  less  enthusiastic, 
they  had  stood  there  embarrassed.  By  being  the  first  to 
speak,  Peter  has  won  a  primacy  of  honour  and  jurisdic- 
tion that  will  be  his  forever.  From  this  time  forth  it 
will  be  his  prerogative  to  teach  and  govern  the  Church, 
with  that  immovable  stability  which  Jesus  had  foreseen 
when,  looking  upon  him  for  the  first  time,  He  had  sur- 
named  him  Peter  or  Rock. 

"Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  Bar-Jona,"  He  said  to  him, 
His  eyes  beaming  with  divine  joy;  "because  flesh  and 
blood  hath  not  revealed  it  to  thee,  but  my  Father  who  is 
in  heaven !"  Flesh  and  blood  would  have  told  him  what 
they  had  told  the  Pharisees,  His  enemies,  or,  at  most,  what 
they  had  told  the  people  who  were  blinded  by  a  kind  of 
half-belief.  It  is  light  from  above  that  reveals  to  him 
the  Master's  divine  physiognomy  in  its  true  colour.  Thus, 
again,  in  the  succession  of  ages,  it  will  be  to  heavenly 
inspiration  and  not  to  the  human  preoccupations  of  a  vain 
science  or  of  a  timid  philosophy,  that  Peter  will  turn  to 
gather  the  universal  tradition  of  the  Church,  and  to 
dictate  the  rule  of  our  faith.  Asking  from  God  alone 
strength  and  light,  he  shall  not,  when  he  must  speak  as 
the  head  of  the  faithful,  know  the  failures  of  passion  or 
of  error. 

Here  and  now,  he  is  to  receive  official  assurance  of  this 
immunity ;  and  since  he  has  proclaimed  what  he  thought  of 
the  Master,  the  Master  desires  to  tell  before  all  what  He 
will  do  for  him.  "And  I  say  to  thee,"  Jesus  goes  on, 
"that  thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock®  I  will  build 

*  The  Greek  translation  of  St.  Matthew  has  not  entirely  preserved  the  play 
upon  words  which  is  found  in  the  original  Syro-Chaldaic,  and  which  may  be 
found  also  in  the  French  rendering.     Kepha  was  at  the  same  time  the  word 

[151] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

my  church,^  and  the  gates  ^^  of  hell  shall  not  prevail 
against  it."  He  speaks  in  the  future,  because  He  Him- 
self is  still  alive.  The  royal  succession  is  not  begun.  As 
long  as  He  is  in  this  world,  another  head  of  the  new 
society  would  appear  superfluous.  To  Him  alone  belongs 
the  burden  of  its  care.  But  when  He  shall  have  quitted 
earth,  although  still  remaining  the  real  head  of  the  Church, 
He  will  be  no  longer  its  visible  head.  Then  He  will  have 
recourse  to  an  intermediary  who  shall  govern  the  Church 
for  Him.  This  intermediary  is  to  be  the  very  Apostle 
whom  He  has  just  selected.  Peter,  however,  must  not  be 
appalled  at  his  mission.  If  he  is  officially  to  represent  the 
Master,  he  may  be  sure  that  his  personal  views,  his  preju- 
dices, and  his  preferences  shall  be  silent,  and  that  God 
alone  will  inspire  his  speech.  Whenever  he  shall  have  to 
resist,  challenge,  or  combat,  strength  from  on  high  shall 
sustain  him  against  his  enemies.  More  lasting  than  the 
rock  of  Paneas  on  which  the  hand  of  man  has  just  erected 
a  temple  to  Augustus,  and  which  the  storms,  the  genera- 
tions, the  ages  shall  gradually  wear  away,  the  rock  planted 

signifying  a  rock,  and  the  name  given  to  Simon.  Not  venturing  to  give  to  a 
man  a  name  with  a  feminine  ending,  the  author  of  the  Greek  text  puts  it: 
2u  ti  Tlerpos,  Ka\  ivl  Tourp  rfj  verpa.  Nevertheless  he  could  have  employed 
tlie  word  irirpos  instead  of  vtrpa  in  the  second  member  of  tlie  phrase,  and 
would  have  been  authorised  by  excellent  authors  (see  the  (Edipus  Tyrannus, 
1.  342;  Herodotus,  ix,  55,  etc.)  if  he  did  not  wish  to  use  vfrpa  to  designate 
Simon  himself. 

°  This  is  the  first  time  that  Jesus  calls  the  society  of  the  faitliful  the  Church. 
Inasmuch  as  on  this  day  she  takes  possession  of  life,  it  is  right  that  she  should 
receive  also  her  name.  Henceforth  this  name,  vague  in  its  ordinary  mean- 
ing, like  the  word  synagogue,  will  denote  exclusively  the  society  of  Christians. 

'"  Among  the  people  of  the  Orient,  the  gates  signify  power,  in  figm-ative 
language,  since  it  was  at  the  gates  of  a  town  that  rulers  were  accustomed  to 
sit  in  order  to  dispense  justice.  In  Jerusalem,  in  fact,  the  Sanhedrim  was 
seated  at  the  Gate  of  Nicanor,  and  the  assembly  of  doctors  at  the  Gate  of 
Suza.  From  this  ancient  custom  comes  the  name  Sublime  Porte  given  to 
the  Sultan's  court,  and  here,  therefore,  the  Gates  of  Scheol,  or  hell,  mean 
either  the  power  of  death  (compare  Isa.  xxxviii,  10;  /  Cor.  xv,  55),  or 
the  empire  of  Satan  or  of  e\il.  In  either  case,  immortality  and  supreme 
power  are  plainly  assured  for  the  new  Church. 

[152] 


BOOK  II]     ON   THE  WAY  TO   CiESAREA-PHILIPPI 

by  God  shall  stand  eternally.^ ^  Its  stability  shall  be  the 
very  stability  of  the  Church.  It  is  the  Church's  essential 
basis ;  and  though  it  must  be  granted  that  the  foundation 
is  not  the  entire  structure,  we  must,  at  the  same  time, 
acknowledge  that  without  the  foundation  the  structure 
would  not  exist. 

To  mistake  the  great  law  of  the  Christian  hierarchy 
according  to  which  Simon  Peter  and  his  successors  are, 
by  right,  the  heads  of  the  Church  would  be,  therefore,  to 
destroy  the  first  thought  in  the  divine  plan,  to  deny  what 
the  Master  affirms,  and  to  substitute  an  oligarchy  for  the 
most  perfect  of  monarchical  systems.  For  Jesus,  con- 
tinuing His  promise,  declares  that  Peter  has  not  simply  a 
passive  primacy,  serving  as  a  support  to  the  mass  of  the 
Church,  but  also  an  active  primacy,  in  the  absolute  influ- 
ence which  he  shall  exercise  over  all  the  flock.  He  will 
be  a  government  as  well  as  a  foundation.  "And  I  will 
give  to  thee  the  keys  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.  And 
whatsoever  thou  shalt  bind  upon  earth,  it  shall  be  bound 
also  in  heaven ;  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  on  earth, 
it  shall  be  loosed  also  in  heaven."  The  key  is  given  only 
to  the  father  of  the  family,  to  the  master  of  the  house 
or  of  the  town.  If  the  Church  is  a  society,  Peter  shall 
be  its  Head;  if  it  is  a  kingdom,  he  shall  be  its  King;  if 
a  flock,  he  shall  be  its  Shepherd,  gathering  or  scattering 
the  sheep  in  his  prudent  judgment,  granting  or  repressing 
the  title  of  citizen,  opening  or  closing  the  door  of  his  house. 

"  It  may  be  that  the  grand  sight  of  the  temple  of  Augustus,  resting  with 
its  mass  of  white  marble  columns  upon  the  rock  of  Paneas,  naturally  sug- 
gested to  Jesus  the  beautiful  picture  which  He  drew  in  order  to  define  the 
part  Peter  was  to  play  in  the  future  history  of  the  Church.  The  com- 
parison once  established  between  the  immense  rock  and  the  surname  of 
Simon,  that  between  the  dying  paganism  and  the  nascent  Church  had  to 
follow.  St.  Matthew  alone  commits  to  the  pages  of  his  Gospel  the  im- 
portant promise  made  by  Jesus  to  Simon-Peter.  On  this  point,  the  others 
contain  an  omission  which  would  be  inexplicable  if  they  had  drawn  from 
one  common  written  source. 

[153] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [pabt  second 

This  house  is  the  Church  in  time,  but  in  eternity  the 
Church  becomes  heaven. 

Such  is  the  manner  in  which  the  Saviour's  question  had 
called  forth  the  Apostles'  profession  of  faith;  this  pro- 
fession of  faith  had  proved  the  hfe  of  the  Church;  the 
Church  had  received  a  head  and  a  promise  of  perpetual 
indefectibility.  This  was  more  than  sufficient  to  make  this 
incident  the  most  important  and  most  productive  event 
since  the  first  days  of  the  Messiah's  ministry.  The  Master 
had  just  proved  that  His  long-continued  efforts  had  led 
the  Apostles  to  recognise  Him  as  the  Christ.  This  first 
definite  result  obtained,  He  could  now  undertake  to  teach 
them  what  sort  of  Christ  and  Messiah  He  was  to  be. 

Here  began  for  the  disciples,  in  a  most  unexpected  form, 
the  revelation  of  the  second  part  of  the  divine  plan. 
Events  followed  each  other  rapidly ;  the  hatred  of  His 
enemies  pursuing  Jesus  even  into  Galilee  made  it  plain  that 
sad  and  tragic  events  were  soon  to  take  place.  It  was  time 
bravely  to  face  the  troublous  periods  that  were  approach- 
ing. First  of  all,  happy  though  He  was  at  the  Apostles' 
act  of  faith,  Jesus  strongly  advised  them,  however,  not 
to  preach  that  He  was  the  Christ.  Such  a  declaration  on 
their  part  would  have  excited  terrible  fury  in  some  and 
dangerous  enthusiasm  in  others.  They  must  prudently 
guard  the  faith  they  have  in  the  depth  of  their  hearts  and 
complete  it  by  believing,  however  painful  it  may  be,  in  a 
Messiah  suffering  and  humiliated  as  the  necessary  prelim- 
inary of  a  Messiah  triumphant  and  glorious.  True  faith 
could  feel  no  hesitation.  In  Jesus  it  saw  not  only  the 
Christ  that  was  looked  for,  but  also  the  Christ  that  was  to 
be  crucified. 

For  the  moment  the  Apostles,  who  admitted  the  first  of 
the  two  articles  of  this  rudimentary  creed,  energetically 
rejected  the  other.     They  could  see  in  it  only  a  scandalous 

[154] 


BooKii^     ON  THE  WAY  TO   C.ESAREA-PHILIPPI 

paradox.  Jesus  is  not  unaware  of  this,  but  nevertheless 
He  determines  to  assert  it.  Their  eyes  must  become  accus- 
tomed, now  by  sudden  and  awful  illuminations,  and  again 
by  dim  half-lights,  to  the  terrible  prospect  of  Calvary. 
Their  present  faith  seems  able  to  endure  a  first  blow.  He 
inflicts  it  without  delay.  The  broad  track  of  the  light- 
ning-stroke with  which  He  now  draws  aside  the  veil  of  the 
future,  will  expose  before  them  the  bloody  sacrifice  with  all 
its  horrible  details. 

And,  indeed,  according  to  the  providential  plan,  which 
Jesus  soon  lays  before  them,  the  Son  of  Man  must  repair 
to  Jerusalem,  the  very  centre  of  hostilities.  There  He 
shall  suffer  all  the  woes  and  disgrace  that  the  fury  of  the 
Scribes,  the  Chief  Priests,  and  the  Ancients  of  the  people 
can  suggest,  until  He  shall  have  been  done  to  death.  Yet, 
even  in  the  face  of  this  catastrophe,  His  triumph  is  not 
to  be  despaired  of.  For  the  victory  of  His  enemies  shall 
be  but  momentary,  and  He,  stronger  than  death,  shall  rise 
again  the  third  day  to  enter  into  everlasting  glory.  This 
in  a  few  words  is  what  they  are  approaching.  As  one 
of  the  Evangelists  observes  in  connection  with  this,  "  He 
spoke  the  word  openly."  ^^  Formerly  it  was  the  Temple, 
the  brazen  serpent,  Jonas,  that  served  Him  as  emblems  in 
prophesying  these  mysterious  events,  and  His  allusions 
were  not  understood.  From  now  on  He  relates  the  history 
of  His  passion  with  a  steadiness  of  gaze  and  a  firmness  of 
soul  that  startle  and  overwhelm  His  hearers. 

His  disciples  were,  in  fact,  stupefied,  overwhelmed, 
shocked.  Peter,  who  stood  near  Him,  still  proud  of  the 
success  of  his  profession  of  faith,  sought,  in  his  indignant 
affection,  to  take  Him  aside  and  to  reproach  Him  for 
speaking  thus.  "Lord,  be  it  far  from  thee,"  he  said  to 
Him,  "this  shall  not  be  unto  thee!"     His  admiration  for 

"  St.  Mark  viii,  32. 
[  155  ] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [pabt  second 

the  Master,  his  friendship,  liis  faith,  everything  in  him  de- 
prived him  of  the  power  of  considering  even  the  possibihty 
of  such  a  misfortune.  Besides,  if  the  wicked  were  capable 
of  plotting  such  a  thing,  was  not  Jesus  far  more  able  to 
offset  it?  In  all  this  Peter  Avas  judging  according  to  hu- 
man views.  He  was  forgetful  that  there  could  be  and  that 
there  was,  in  fact,  something  above  any  human  will, 
namely:  the  divine  justice.  This  demanded  a  complete 
and  infinite  expiation ;  hence  had  Jesus  uttered  that  decisive 
word  which  Peter  had  not  noticed:  "The  Son  of  Man 
must  ^^  suffer  the  fury  of  the  wicked."  To  deter  the 
Master  from  accepting  the  great  sacrifice  was  a  proof  that 
he  had  not  understood  the  mystery  of  His  mission  into  the 
world ;  it  was  tempting  the  Man-God,  as  the  spirit  of  dark- 
ness had  done,  to  renounce  the  redemption  of  man,  so  that 
He  might  avoid  suffering.  Filled  with  holy  indignation 
and  suffering  him  to  go  no  farther,^  ^  Jesus  turned  upon 
His  rash  disciple,  and  with  a  word  humiliated  him  whom  He 
had  honoured  shortly  before,  and  chastised  him  for  this 
thoroughly  human  counsel,  as  before  He  had  rewarded 
him  for  an  inspiration  all  divine:  "Get  thee  behind  Me, 
Satan,  thou  art  a  scandal  to  Me ;  because  thou  savourest 
not  the  things  that  are  of  God,  but  the  things  that  are 
of  men." 

Jesus  gave  this  severe  lesson  to  Peter  in  the  presence 
of  all  the  disciples.  If  He  treated  him  harshly,  it  was 
because  He  saw  behind  him  all  the  Apostles  with  the  same 
thought  and  the  same  objections.  Therefore,  after  this 
sharp  rebuke.  He  resumed  the  drift  of  His  remarks  in  order 
to  lift  the  lesson  to  a  higher  plane  and  at  the  same  time 
deepen  its  significance.     He  made  a  sign  to  the  people  to 

"  The  pitiless  8e«  is  emphasised  in  the  three  Gospels. 
'*S<.  Matt,  xvii,  22,  and  St.  Mark  viii,  32,  indicate  that  Peter  had  hardly 
begun  to  speak  {iip^aro). 

[156] 


BooKiij     ON  THE  WAY  TO   CiESAREA-PHILIPPI 

draw  nearer.  "If  any  man  will  come  after  Me,"  He  said, 
"let  him  deny  himself,  and  take  up  his  cross  and  follow 
Me!"  So  the  true  disciple  of  the  Gospel  must  first  of 
all  put  aside  all  dreams  of  human  glory,  of  well-being,  of 
pleasure,  of  wealth,  of  temporal  dominion.  Christianity 
has  nothing  in  common  with  these  vanities.  The  members 
of  the  new  society  must  prove  their  vocation  sincere  by 
repudiating  without  exception  the  illusions  of  selfish  and 
carnal  Judaism.  To  accept  Jesus  and  His  doctrine  is  to 
take  upon  one's  shoulder  the  emblem  of  death  and  the 
renouncement  of  human  joys;  it  is  to  accept  freely  the 
punishment  of  the  condemned  man,  who  carries  the  cross 
and  walks  with  it  through  the  city,  knowing  that  he  is  to 
die  thereon.  The  Christian,  in  truth,  is  destined  to  stretch 
himself  upon  the  fatal  tree,  even  though  others  may  not 
nail  him  to  it.  Dead  to  his  passions,  to  evil  longings,  to 
the  old  man,  dead,  perhaps,  even  physically,  is  what  one 
must  become  in  choosing  to  follow  Jesus  Christ. 

This  symbol  of  a  cruel  and  humiliating  death,  borrowed 
from  the  punishment  of  the  cross,  was  evidently  to  some 
extent  prophetic.  The  disciples  will  understand  this  later 
on.  Sanctified  and  glorified  by  the  blood  of  the  Saviour, 
the  infamous  gibbet  shall  become  the  yoke  beneath  which 
all  lovingly  bow  their  heads,  and  those  only  shall  be  true 
Christians  who  know  how  to  live  and  die  at  the  foot  of 
the  Tree  of  Redemption. 

These  radical  theories  were  received  by  all  as  a  paradox. 
Jesus,  paying  no  heed  to  their  protests,  at  once  resumed 
His  thought  under  another  form.  His  object  was  to  en- 
courage them  to  make  the  sacrifice  He  demanded.  "For 
whosoever  will  save  his  life,"  He  went  on,  "shall  lose  it; 
and  whosoever  shall  lose  his  life  for  My  sake  and  the 
Gospel,  shall  save  it."  For  to  seek  to  preserve  one's  life 
according  to  the  material  notions  of  earth,  is  to  sacrifice 

[157] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

it  by  forcing  it  to  vegetate  without  true  light,  without 
virtues,  without  hope  for  eternity ;  it  is  to  prefer  the 
transitory  to  the  et&rnal.  Who  does  this,  desires  the  van- 
ity of  a  dream,  and  he  shall  have  it  and  shall  die  of  hunger. 
While,  on  the  other  hand,  he  who  gives  his  life  to  bear  tes- 
timony to  the  truth  either  in  word,  or  in  work,  or  even 
to  the  shedding  of  his  blood,  is  certain  to  find  it  again 
strong  and  glorious  and  henceforth  immortal,  after  the 
sacrifice  which  he  has  offered  is  completed.  "For  what 
doth  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world,  and  suffer 
the  loss  of  his  own  soul.''  Or  what  exchange  shall  a  man 
give  for  his  soul.'*"  Can  anything  counterbalance  a  treas- 
ure which  is  the  whole  of  man  ?  Whatever  we  may  acquire 
during  the  present  life,  however  precious  it  may  seem,  is 
only  for  a  while,  and  then  it  slips  from  our  grasp ;  the 
soul's  lot  will  be  unchangeable  for  eternity.  These  two 
thoughts  constitute  true  wisdom,  and  throw  a  clear  light 
on  our  most  essential  duties. 

They  must  needs,  therefore,  put  an  end  to  earthly  hopes 
regarding  the  Master.  He  forbids  such  to  His  true  dis- 
ciples. Earthly  things  are  too  ephemeral  to  find  any 
place  in  the  Kingdom  of  the  Son  of  God.  No  doubt  the 
Messiah  will  come  later  on  as  King,  clad  in  the  robes  of 
triumph ;  not  in  vain  have  they  read  this  in  the  prophets ; 
but,  then,  time  having  reached  its  term.  His  subjects  shall 
be  the  elect.  His  empire  heaven,  His  era  eternity.  He  will 
appear  in  the  midst  of  the  glory  of  the  Father,  surrounded 
by  the  angels,  a  true  Messiah-King,  He  will  render  to 
each  one  according  to  his  merits  in  the  solemn  distribu- 
tion of  His  justice.  Then,  "He  that  shall  be  ashamed 
of  Me,"  says  Jesus,  "and  of  My  words  in  this  adulterous 
and  sinful  generation,  of  him  the  Son  of  Man  shall  be 
ashamed,  when  He  shall  come  in  His  majesty." 

If  they  think  that  this  manifestation  seems  to  be  too 
[158] 


BooKii]     ON  THE  WAY  TO  CiESAREA-PHILIPPI 

long  deferred,  they  must  not  forget  that  it  is  soon  to 
have  a  prelude  capable  of  satisfying  all  their  impatience. 
"Amen,  I  say  to  you,"  continues  the  Master,  "there  are 
some  of  them  that  stand  here,  who  shall  not  taste  death 
till  they  see  the  Kingdom  of  God  coming  in  power."  Jesus 
could  not  delay  the  inauguration  of  His  spiritual  triumph 
on  earth.  He  will  cast  down  the  idols,  strike  the  wicked, 
and  enlighten  the  heathen.  Then,  raising  His  cross  up 
above  the  world,  proclaimed  to  all  peoples  by  the  Apostles 
who  will  go  before  Him  like  a  legion  of  Angels,  glorified 
by  His  Father  Who  will. sustain  and  bless  His  work.  He 
will  establish  the  greatest,  noblest,  most  universal  king- 
dom that  has  ever  existed.  It  is  the  near  approach  of 
the  kingdom  of  truth,  of  justice,  and  of  love,  the  prepara- 
tion for  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  that  must  be  awaited. 
Happy  he  who  shall  be  worthy  to  be  inscribed  therein,  and 
to  taste  of  the  joys  thereof ! 

Such  was  the  end  of  this  discourse,  which  gave  a  new 
horizon  to  the  teaching  of  the  Master.  Once  again  a 
division  must  have  occurred  among  the  disciples.  There 
was,  indeed,  sufficient  reason  for  some  to  exclaim:  "This 
is  a  hard  and  even  horrible  saying.  Who  can  endure  it.''" 
Better  even  than  the  words  uttered  in  the  Synagogue  at 
Capharnaum  were  these  calculated  to  revolt  those  whom 
the  Master  commanded  not  only  to  eat  His  flesh  and  drink 
His  blood,  but  also  to  die  themselves  upon  His  cross. 


[159] 


CHAPTER    VIII 

THE   TRANSFIGURATION 

Why  Jesus  Permitted  Himself  to  Be  Seen  in  a  State 
OF  Glory  —  His  Retreat  to  the  Mountain  for 
Purposes  of  Prayer  —  The  Phenomenon  of  the 
Transfiguration  —  What  It  Must  Have  Been  in 
the  Man-God — Jesus  Radiant  Between  Moses  and 
Elias  —  Their  Heavenly  Conference  —  The  Emo- 
tion OF  THE  Three  Apostles — The  Great  Testi- 
mony or  the  Father — Question  Concerning  Elias 
— At  the  Foot  of  the  Mountain  the  Disciples  Are 
Worried  and  the  Scribes  Triumph — The  Lunatic 
—  Jesus'  Indignation  —  The  Father's  Touching 
Prayer — The  Power  of  Faith — The  Demoniac  Is 
Healed — Jesus'  Triumph.  (St.  Luke  ix,  28-43;  St. 
Mark  ix,  2-29;  St.  Matthew  xvii,  1-21.) 

Jesus  had  declared,  in  terminating  the  foregoing  dis- 
course, that  some  of  His  hearers  should  not  die  without 
having  seen  Him  in  His  glory.  We  understood  Him  as 
speaking  of  His  twofold  coming,  spiritual  in  time  and 
glorious  at  the  end  of  the  world.  Still  there  is  nothing 
to  prevent  us  from  seeing  in  His  words  a  direct  allusion  to 
that  mysterious  and  astounding  event,  His  Transfigura- 
tion, which  was  soon  to  occur.  We  may,  indeed,  consider 
this  as  an  anticipated  representation  of  the  future  com- 

[160] 


BOOK  II]  THE  TRANSFIGURATION 

ing  of  the  Messiah-King.  By  manifesting  Himself  in  the 
ideal  and  divine  beauty  of  His  superior  life,  Jesus  seems 
to  have  desired  to  give  His  three  disciples,  who  saw  Him, 
a  momentary  view  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  and  of  its 
unspeakable  splendours. 

About  a  week  had  elapsed  ^  since  the  great  discourse 
in  which  the  Master  had  announced  His  coming  trials, 
and  this  unexpected  revelation  filled  the  Apostles  with  pro- 
found discouragement.  The  awful  prospect  was  at  all 
times  before  them.  Too  calmly  and  too  precisely  outlined 
for  it  to  be  merely  imaginary,  they  could  no  longer  hope, 
after  Peter's  failure,  that  Jesus  would  decide  to  prevent 
its  realisation.  The  very  thought  of  beholding  so  sad  an 
end  to  His  earthly  career  filled  the  Apostles  with  pain ; 
in  their  hearts,  because  they  loved  Him;  in  their  minds, 
because  they  no  longer  had  any  understanding  of  the  di- 
vine plan ;  and  in  their  souls,  in  fine,  because  they  saw  the 
ideal  of  the  future  vanishing  together  with  all  their  more 
or  less  human  and  worldly  hopes.  Such  a  state  of  mind 
was  dangerous.  To  bring  about  a  strong  reaction,  Jesus 
resolved  to  let  them  behold  a  little  light  by  the  side  of 
the  sombre  events  which  He  had  foretold. 

He,  therefore,  took  three  of  His  Apostles,  Peter,  James, 
and  John,  whose  influence  generally  determined  the  moral 
dispositions  of  the  others,  and  with  them  withdrew  to  a 
high  mountain  ^  to  pray.     It  was  probably  near  evening. 

^  St.  Luke  says :  about  eight  days  after,  while  the  two  other  Synoptics  dis- 
tinctly say  that  it  was  six  days  after.  We  can  harmonise  these  statements 
by  remarking  that  St.  Luke  counts  both  the  day  on  which  Peter  made  his 
profession  and  that  on  which  Our  Lord  was  transfigured,  while  the  others 
count  only  the  intervening  days.  But  the  expression  wael,  "  about,"  in  St. 
Luke  is  the  sign  of  an  approximative  indication.  They  all  mean  to  indicate 
the  lapse  of  a  week. 

'  None  of  the  Evangelists  gives  the  name  of  this  moimtain,  and,  in  ecclesi- 
astical tradition,  the  first  indication  we  have  is  evidently  an  incorrect  one. 
It  is  that  of  the  Pilgrim  of  Bordeaux  {circa  333  a.d.).  If  we  accept  this  state- 
ment, the  Transfiguration  took  place  on  one  of  the  heights  of  the  Mountain 

[161] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [pabt  second 

The  silence  of  nature  in  desert  places,  the  isolation  on 
heights  that  seem  to  bear  one  nearer  to  heaven,  naturally 
incline  man  to  prayer.  The  Apostles  endeavoured,  at  first, 
to  follow  the  Master's  example  and  enter  into  communica- 
tion with  God.  But  gradually  droM^siness  weighed  down 
their  eyelids  and  they  ended  by  falling  asleep. 

In  the  meantime,  not  far  from  them,  Jesus  remained  deep 
in  the  contemplation  of  purest  love.  His  soul  was  flooded 
with  heavenly  light,  and  a  strange  transformation  was 
taking  place,  at  the  same  time,  throughout  His  whole  body. 
It  is  not  a  rare  thing  to  see  a  man  become  suddenly  trans- 
figured under  the  influence  of  a  great  and  noble  passion. 
His  eye  gleams,  his  countenance  brightens  with  a  brilliant 
light,  and  his  whole  being,  as  if  enveloped  in  an  electrical 

of  Olives,  not  far  from  the  basilica  built  by  Constantine :  "Inde  non  longe 
est  monticulum  ubi  Dominus  ascendit  orare  et  apparuit  illic,  (sic),  Moyses 
et  Elias,  quando  Petrum  et  Joaimem  secum  duxit."  (Itin.  Ter.  S.,  Geneva, 
fasc.  i,  p.  18^  Some  time  after  St.  Cyril  in  his  Catechesis,  xii,  15,  supposes 
that  Mount  Thabor  was  the  scene  of  the  event.  St.  Jerome,  Episi.  xlvi, 
ad  Marcel.,  and  Epitaph.  Ixxxvi  SUe.  Paulee,  adopts  this  opinion  of  his  con- 
temporary, and  from  tliat  time  it  became  the  only  accepted  one  for  all  the 
pilgrims  of  the  Holy  Land. 

Mount  Thabor  is  a  very  beautiful  eminence,  covered  ■with  terebinths, 
evergreen  oaks,  carob-trees,  and  lentisks,  and  picturesquely  rounded  off 
on  all  sides.  To  the  east  it  dominates  the  plain  of  Esdrelon.  We  find  it 
mentioned  more  than  once  in  Scripture,  for  it  gave  its  name  to,  or  borrowed  it 
from,  a  fortified  town  built  on  its  summit,  having  dependencies  and  belonging 
to  the  tribe  of  Issachar.  {Jos.  xix,  22 ;  Paralip.,  vi,  77.)  Its  importance  from 
a  strategic  point  of  view,  causes  it  to  be  mentioned  by  Polybius  liv.  v,  70, 
under  the  name  of  Atabyrion,  in  connection  with  Antiochus  the  Great,  who, 
according  to  this  historian,  fortified  it,  after  having  taken  possession  of  it 
in  218  B.C.  There  is  no  account  of  its  being  depopulated  or  abandoned 
later  on,  and  when  it  reappears  in  history  (67  a.d.),  Josephus,  B.  J.,  iv,  1-8, 
who  pitched  a  camp  on  the  higher  plateau,  speaks  of  its  inhabitants,  to7s 
iirolKots,  and  distinguishes  them  from  the  soldiers  he  had  established  there. 

It  is  somewhat  surprising  after  this  to  find  St.  Jerome  looking  upon 
Thabor  as  the  high  and  solitary  moimtain,  ^/TjKhv,  Kar'i^lap,  of  which  the 
Evangelists  sp)eak.  Not  only  was  Thabor  inliabited  in  the  first  century  of 
our  era,  but  the  summit  has  always  been  clearly  in  view  and  the 
heavenly  manifestation  would  have  been  as  visible,  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Naim,  Endor,  and  the  moimtains  of  Galilee  as  to  the  three  disciples 
who  accompanied  Jesus.  Let  us  add  that  all  the  other  indications  of  the 
Evangelists  agree  in  placing  anywhere  but  in  Galilee  the  important  scene 

[162] 


BooKii]  THE  TRANSFIGURATION 

glow,  seems  to  enter  a  new  sphere.  The  transformation 
produced  by  ecstasy  attains  a  still  sublimer  degree.  The 
ecstatic  ravished  beyond  himself,  or,  at  the  least,  forcibly 
seized  by  the  sentiment  of  the  divine  presence,  finds  him- 
self, in  fact,  under  the  immediate  and  sensible  influence  of 
that  presence.  Then  there  arises  a  second  cause  of  trans- 
figuration no  less  powerful  than  the  first :  it  is  God  acting 
upon  the  ecstatic  like  the  sun  upon  the  objects  to  which 
it  gives  heat.  This  explains  how  it  was  that  Moses,  de- 
scending from  Sinai,  had  presented  to  the  view  of  the 
people  a  brow  so  radiant  that  the  eye  could  not  bear  the 
sight  of  it.^  To  the  illumination  that  spread  from  his 
soul  to  his  features,  was  added  the  visible  reflection  of  di- 
vine glory  in  the  bosom  of  which  he  had  sojourned.  But 
in  Jesus  all  this  must  have  been  produced  not  only  in  an 
eminent  degree,  but  with  a  new  and  incomparable  element 
of  splendour.     For  the  hypostatic  union  kept  His  soul  in 

of  the  Transfiguration.  Thus  Jesus  went  away  from  Csesarea-Philippi  for 
the  express  purpose  of  fleeing  from  the  enemies  that  threatened  llim  in 
Galilee,  and  then,  within  six  or  eight  days  after,  we  find  Him  again  in  the 
very  midst  of  Galilee.  This  is  very  unlikely.  But  His  departure  from 
Gaulanitis  is  clearly  specified  in  St.  Matt,  xvii,  21,  and  St.  Mark  ix,  29. 
The  latter  particularly  states  that  after  the  cure  of  the  lunatic,  perhaps  a 
long  time  after,  Jesus  returned  to  Galilee  to  pass  through  it  secretly  so  as  to 
reach  Capharnaum  and  from  thence  ascend  to  Jerusalem.  What  could 
be  more  clear?  The  Scriptural  indications  appear  to  us  the  more  decisive 
as  the  traditional  indications  only  date  from  the  end  of  the  fourth  century, 
and  they  who  mention  them  allege  no  reasons  or  more  ancient  data  what- 
soever in  suDport  of  them.  More  naturally  should  we  seek  on  one  of  the 
abrupt  and  desert  foot-hills  of  Hermon  the  high  and  sohtary  mountain 
which  Jesus  ascended  with  His  three  disciples  to  pray  there  free  from  any 
intrusion.  We  have  visited  these  localities,  and  have  felt,  on  climbing  these 
hills,  which  overlook  the  whole  course  of  the  Jordan  down  to  the  Dead  Sea 
and,  consequently,  the  whole  of  the  Holy  Land,  that  they,  rather  than  Thabor, 
agree  with  the  indications  in  Holy  Writ.  {Voyage  avx  Pays  Bihliques,  vol. 
ii,  p.  288). 

As  regards  the  crowd  gathered  aroimd  the  lunatic  and  the  Scribes  who 
were  amongst  them,  we  have  found  no  difficulty.  They  were  at  the  gates  of 
Cffisarea-Philippi.  But  this  capital  of  the  tetrarch,  though  counting  many 
pagans  within  its  v/alls,  was  nevertheless  the  city  of  a  Jewish  prince,  having 
sjTiagogues  and  Scribes  or  Rabbis,  like  all  the  important  centres  of  Palestine. 

^  Exod.  xxxiv,  29  et  seq. ;  II  Cor.  iii,  7. 

[163] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

intimate  and  perfect  relation  with  the  Divinity.  The  soul 
reacting  on  the  body  could  not  but  penetrate  it  with  the 
rays  of  divine  glory.  Since  Jesus  was  the  Son  of  God  in 
human  flesh,  Ave  may  say  that  His  ordinary  state  must  have 
been  that  of  glory,  and  that  He  came  forth  from  it  only 
by  veiling  His  divine  brilliancy  by  a  positive  and  special 
act  of  His  power. 

At  the  point  in  His  ministry  at  which  we  have  arrived, 
it  was  important  for  Him  that  His  disciples  should  have 
some  knowledge  of  that  inner,  transcendent  life  that  con- 
stituted His  supreme  happiness  and  His  true  majesty. 
Will  they,  after  having  seen  Him  in  His  divine  splendour, 
still  dream  of  the  perishable  greatness  of  earth  in  His 
behalf?  In  any  case,  the  humiliations  and  sufferings  that 
await  Him  shall  have  a  character  none  the  less  strange 
but  less  discouraging  for  those  who  shall  have  beheld  the 
two  distinct  sides  of  His  life :  the  one  turned  toward  earth, 
transitory,  insignificant;  the  other  toward  heaven,  true, 
eternal.  Can  the  evil  that  reaches  only  the  body  really 
trouble  the  soul  flooded  with  divine  consolations,  or  can 
passing  insults  hurled  by  the  wicked  against  the  just  one 
prevent  his  sovereign  glorification  and  his  triumph  in  a 
better  life? 

Therefore  the  Master's  soul,  in  the  enjoyment  of  the 
beatific  vision,  had  but  to  dispel  the  mist  with  which  it 
was  concealed,  and  under  the  influence  of  this  internal 
radiance  His  body  at  once  became  transparent.  His  very 
garments  seemed  penetrated  with  light.  They  were  bright 
with  a  whiteness  such  as  no  fuller  upon  earth,  as  St.  Mark 
says,  could  reproduce.  His  head  more  than  all  was  mar- 
vellously beautiful.  The  soul  ordinarily  is  reflected  in  the 
features  of  the  countenance ;  they  are  its  faithful  and  privi- 
leged mirror.     The  divine  face  shone  like  the  sun. 

At  the  same  time,  the  higher  world  itself  came  down  to 
[164] 


BooKii]  THE  TRANSFIGURATION 

admire  the  glorification  of  the  Son  of  Man.  The  super- 
natural brightness  shed  round  by  these  new-comers  from 
another  life  uniting  with  the  light  that  came  from  Jesus, 
formed  as  it  were  a  vast  nimbus,  a  sort  of  tabernacle  of 
light  or  luminous  firmament  that  sheltered  the  most  august 
meeting  this  world  has  ever  witnessed.  For  on  the  right 
hand  and  on  the  left  of  the  Saviour  were  two  men,  accred- 
ited representatives  of  the  ancient  glories  of  Israel,  Moses 
and  Elias,  the  twin  heroes  of  the  old  theocracy.  They  were 
bent  in  respect  before  their  Lord,  and,  contemplating  in 
Him  the  perfect  fulfilment  of  the  Messianic  prophecies, 
they  discoursed  on  the  end  that  awaited  Him  in  Jerusalem.* 
The  astounding  crime  by  which  this  people,  kilhng  its 
Messiah,  was  to  seal  its  final  reprobation,  filled  their  Israel- 
ite souls  with  pain,  and  they  besought  God  to  forestall  such 
a  transgression.  It  was  in  vain ;  notwithstanding  the 
prayers  and  the  intercession  of  her  just  men,  Jerusalem 
would  consummate  her  apostasy.  She  was  the  city  that 
had  slain  the  prophets,  and  now  she  meant  to  lay  her  sacri- 
legious hands  upon  the  Lord's  Anointed  and  to  attempt 
the  destruction  of  her  God. 

For  His  part,  Jesus,  contemplating  with  love  the  cross 
which  He  saw  already  prepared  in  the  Holy  Cit}^,  pointed 
to  it  with  enthusiasm.  Thus  He  taught  Moses  that  there 
might  be  something  more  consoling  than  to  die  by  the 
kiss  of  the  Eternal,^  and  Elias  that  there  was  something 
grander  than  to  be  borne  away  to  heaven  in  a  fiery  chariot : 

*  It  is  St.  Luke  ix,  31,  who  tells  us  of  the  subject  of  their  conversation, 
tXeyov  T^v  i^oSov  avTov  fjv  j^/ufWev  nXripovu  iy  'lepov(To\i)fi,  and  thereby  per- 
mits lis  to  establish  a  close  connection  between  the  Transfiguration  and  the 
talk  on  the  way  to  Csesarea.  Elias  and  Moses  teach  the  Apostles  a  lesson  by 
their  acknowledgment,  in  the  name  of  the  whole  of  the  Old  Testament,  of 
a  Messiah  suffering  and  humiliated.  The  word  t^o^os  means  simultaneously 
the  going  out  and  the  end,  by  death,  resurrection,  and  ascension,  of  the 
Messianic  life,  the  beginning  of  which  St.  Paul  {Acts  xiii,  24)  will  call  eftroSoj. 

^This  was  the  expression  used  by  the  Rabbis  to  characterise  the  happy 
death  of  the  great  leader  of  Israel. 

[165] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [pakt  second 

namely,  to  mount  upon  a  cross  to  expiate  there  the  sin 
of  the  world,  and  to  rise  again  to  enter  heaven  truly 
triumphant. 

The  conversation  was  near  its  end,  and  the  Apostles  still 
slept.  Again,  later  on,  will  they  so  sleep  in  Gethsemane; 
but  Jesus,  though  permitting  them  to  sleep  then,  to  spare 
them  the  sight  of  His  anguish,  awakened  them  now  to 
fortify  their  doubting  hearts.  A  ray  of  His  glory  that 
He  lets  fall  upon  them  suffices  to  draw  them  from  their 
deep  sleep.  As  they  awake,  their  eyes  behold  the  sublime 
spectacle.  The  Master  in  His  superhuman  aspect  they 
recognise  at  once ;  the  two  strangers  they  know  perhaps 
by  the  characteristic  signs  commonly  attributed  to  them 
in  Jewish  tradition,  or  more  probably  by  the  conversa- 
tion that  they  overhear.  What,  indeed,  are  these  citizens 
of  another  world?  Are  they  simply  souls,  clad  in  the 
appearance  of  bodies ;  really  men  or  pure,  symbolical  ap- 
paritions.? Their  faith  is  untroubled.  They  recognise 
the  accomplishment  of  a  mystery :  the  law  of  Moses  pay- 
ing homage  to  the  Gospel,  and  the  great  figures  of  the 
past  bending  before  their  full  realisation  in  the  present; 
this  suffices  for  them.  This  heavenly  vision  delights  them. 
They  pray  that  it  may  not  end,  and  when  it  bids  fair  to 
vanish,  Peter,  in  his  anguish  and  with  naive  simplicity, 
cries  out :  "Rabbi,  it  is  good  for  us  to  be  here !  Let  us 
make  here  three  tabernacles,  one  for  Thee  and  one  for 
Moses  and  one  for  Elias."  It  was  as  if  the  fear  of  pass- 
ing the  night  in  the  open  air  might  bring  the  holy  meet- 
ing to  an  end.  St.  Luke  and  St.  Mark  are  right  in  say- 
ing that  Peter,  overwhelmed  and  beyond  himself,  knew 
not  what  he  was  saying.  His  appeal  remained  unan- 
swered, or  rather  he  had  scarcely  finished  it  when  the  dis- 
appearance of  those  for  whom  he  wished  to  provide  a 
shelter  told  him  of  the  futility  of  his  desire.     A  bright 

[166] 


BOOK  II]  THE  TRANSFIGURATION 

cloud  enveloped  them.^  It  was  the  glory  of  God,  and  the 
Apostles  who  understood  it  were  struck  with  fear.  From 
the  midst  of  the  cloud  was  heard  a  voice  which  said :  "This 
is  My  beloved  Son/  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased;  hear  ye 
Him." 

Overwhelmed  by  this  series  of  wonders,  and  deeply  moved 
by  the  sense  of  the  immediate  presence  of  God,  the  three 
Apostles  had  fallen  prostrate  upon  the  ground.  Jesus, 
approaching,  touched  them  and  said :  "Arise  and  fear  not." 
They  looked.  The  Master,  again  in  His  ordinary  condi- 
tion, was  alone  before  them ;  all  else  had  disappeared.  Thus 
are  the  Law  and  the  Prophets  to  pass  away,  while  Christ 
alone  remains  forever. 

This  glorious  vision  had  ceased  probably  before  dawn. 
The  time  had  come  for  them  to  rejoin  the  Apostolic  group. 
As  they  went  down  the  mountain  Jesus  took  care  to  say 
to  them:  "Tell  the  vision  to  no  man,  till  the  Son  of  Man 
be  risen  from  the  dead."  These  last  woi'ds,  reminding  the 
Apostles  of  His  prophecy  concerning  His  fatal  struggle 
with  His  enemies,  held  their  attention.  They  dwelt  upon 
it  and  wondered  what,  indeed,  could  be  the  meaning  of 
the  return  from  death  of  which  He  once  more  spoke  to 
them,  and  at  what  time  they  would  be  free  to  make  known 
so  prodigious  an  event.  The  postponement  of  the  Mes- 
siah's glorification  until  after  His  death  was  for  them 
always  an  unanswerable  enigma.     In  any  case,  they  said 

*  The  expression  ahrovs  appears  to  apply  only  to  those  for  whom  Peter 
would  build  each  a  tabernacle,  Moses,  Elias,  and  Jesus.  Hence  the  reading  of 
certain  manuscripts  bearing  (Kelvovs.  Some  exegetes,  however,  think  that 
according  to  St.  Luke  ix,  34,  not  only  Jesus  but  the  three  Apostles  may 
have  been  enveloped  in  the  luminous  cloud  with  Moses  and  Elias,  and  that 
it  was  this  that  caused  their  fear.  The  text  may,  no  doubt,  be  interpreted 
in  this  manner,  but  the  context  prevents  it,  because  it  cannot  be  seen  how 
the  Apostles  would  have  heard  the  voice  iK  vecpeK-ns,  issuing  from  the  cloud, 
if  they  themselves  had  been  enclosed  within  it. 

'  St.  Luke  ix,  35,  in  the  best  manuscripts  has  6  iK\e\eyfi4yos,  the  elect, 
instead  of  well-beloved. 

[167] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

to  themselves,  if  the  realisation  of  the  triumph  is  deferred 
till  after  Jesus'  death,  and  if  His  death  is  so  near,  how 
explain  that  Elias  does  not  stay  henceforth  upon  earth  to 
fulfil  the  part  of  precursor?  Is  not  prophetic  tradition 
unanimous  in  declaring  that  he  is  to  be  there  at  the  solemn 
moment?  And  thej  immediately  made  known  their  diffi- 
culty to  the  Master:  "Why  then  do  the  Scribes  say  that 
Elias  must  come  first?"  And  He  answered:  "Elias,  indeed, 
shall  come  and  restore  all  things.  But  I  say  to  you  that 
Elias  is  already  come,  and  they  knew  him  not,  but  have 
done  unto  him  whatsoever  they  had  a  mind.  So  also  the 
Son  of  Man  shall  suffer  from  them."  The  Apostles  un- 
derstood that  John  the  Baptist  had  been  the  Elias  an- 
nounced by  the  prophets,  and  their  minds  dwelt  sadly  on 
the  thought  that  the  Master,  far  from  hesitating  to  de- 
liver Himself  up  to  His  enemies,  would  seek  no  other  road 
to  triumph  than  the  pains  and  the  humiliation  of  death. 

In  the  meantime,  from  the  narrow  paths  of  the  moun- 
tain they  had  just  emerged  into  the  valley  where  the  rest 
of  the  Apostolic  band  were  impatiently  awaiting  them. 
Their  surprise  was  great  when  they  saw  their  companions 
surrounded  by  a  large  and  boisterous  multitude.  Some 
Scribes — their  malice  discovered  or  pursued  the  Master 
everywhere — seemed  to  be  provoking  the  tumult  and  to  be 
turning  it  to  their  own  advantage. 

At  the  moment  of  Jesus'  arrival,  says  St.  Mark,  the 
excitement  gave  way  to  fear;  and  soon  this  fear  itself 
was  succeeded  by  a  general  enthusiasm.  For  the  crowd 
threw  themselves  in  His  way  with  unmistakable  signs  of 
respect  and  at  the  same  time  with  a  display  of  curiosity. 
In  the  eyes  of  all  and  more  especially  in  the  humiliated 
appearance  of  His  disciples,  Jesus  saw  that  His  enemies 
had  taken  advantage  of  His  absence  to  engage  in  a  dispute 
in  which  they  had  triumphed.     "What  do  you  question 

[168] 


BOOK  II]  THE  TRANSFIGURATION 

about  among  jou?"  He  demanded,  turning  severely  upon 
the  Scribes.  They  made  no  response.  Their  mahce  could 
not  but  be  silent.  The  facts  themselves  spoke  and  were 
enough  to  compromise  not  only  the  disciples  but  also  the 
work  of  Jesus.  What  had  happened.'^  A  man — the  most 
concerned  in  the  affair — came  forth  from  the  multitude, 
and,  divided  between  despair  of  a  lost  cause  and  the  gleam 
of  hope  aroused  by  the  Saviour's  arrival,  courageously 
broke  the  silence.  "Master,"  he  said,  falling  on  his  knees, 
"I  have  brought  my  son  to  Thee  having  a  dumb  spirit ;  I 
beseech  Thee,  look  upon  my  son,  for  he  is  my  only  one. 
And  lo,  a  spirit  seizeth  him,  and  he  suddenly  crieth  out, 
and  he  throweth  him  down,  and  teareth  him,  so  that  he 
foameth,  and  he  falleth  often  into  the  fire  and  often  into 
the  water ;  he  foameth  and  gnasheth  with  the  teeth,  and 
pineth  away ;  and,  bruising  him,  he  hardly  departeth  from 
him.  And  I  spoke  to  Thy  disciples  to  cast  him  out,  and 
they  could  not." 

The  last  words  explained  the  popular  agitation  as  well 
as  the  emotion  produced  in  both  camps  by  the  sudden  in- 
tervention of  Jesus.  Whether  because  the  Apostles'  faith 
was  not  lively  enough,  or  because  an  evil  sentiment  of 
envy  had  entered  their  hearts  and  made  their  union  with 
the  Master  less  profound — the  preference  Jesus  had  just 
shown  for  three  of  them  might  have  wounded  the  others — 
they  had  found  themselves  wholly  incapable  of  healing  the 
youthful  demoniac.  Their  repeated  and  fruitless  attempts 
had  resulted  only  in  exciting  the  malicious  comments  of 
certain  Scribes  who  were  present.  Without  sufficient  knowl- 
edge to  reply  to  their  objections,  and  without  authority 
to  accomplish  the  miracle  which  would  have  silenced  them, 
they  were  beaten,  and  the  cause  of  truth  was  plainly  in 
danger.  Would  the  Master's  arrival  change  the  state  of 
things.''     They  were  anxiously  wondering. 

[  169  ] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  Ipabt  second 

As  the  father  finished  his  explanation  Jesus'  brow  dark- 
ened and  grew  sad.  Coming  down  from  tlie  splendour 
of  the  mountain  had  He  then  to  encounter  the  passions 
of  the  plain?  After  God's  testimony  is  there  still  room 
for  man's  denial?  Yes,  at  the  foot  of  this  Sinai,  whence 
He  comes  back  glorified  by  the  Law,  the  Prophets,  and 
the  Father  Himself,  it  is,  indeed,  the  triumphant  mockery 
of  His  opponents  that  He  has  heard,  and  it  is  a  begin- 
ning of  general  incredulity  that  He  beholds.  Then,  like 
Moses,  He  feels  the  accents  of  indignation  rising  to  His 
lips,  and  He  strongly  rebukes  the  laxness  of  His  OAvn  and 
the  unbelief  of  the  others.  "O  faithless  and  perverse  gen- 
eration, how  long  shall  I  be  with  you  and  suffer  you?" 
The  law-giver  of  Israel  in  his  anger  showed  only  bit- 
terness ;  Jesus,  after  this  reproach,  proves  His  charity. 
He  desires  not  the  death  of  the  wicked,  but  their  sal- 
vation ;  and  His  law,  though  the  law  of  truth,  is  none 
the  less  the  law  of  mercy.  "Bring  hither  thy  son,"  He 
says  quietly,  as  if  He  wished  to  shake  off  the  painful 
impression  from  His  soul;  and  the  boy  was  brought  to 
His  feet. 

From  the  true  picture  which  the  father  has  already  given 
us  of  his  son's  illness — nervous  convulsions,  inarticulate 
cries,  privation  of  all  the  functions  of  the  senses,  intermit- 
tent attacks,  gnashing  of  the  teeth,  and  foaming  at  the 
mouth,  the  violence  of  the  crisis  that  overcomes  and  throws 
down  the  patient  in  whatever  place  he  may  be,  and  finally 
stupor  and  general  weakening  after  the  attack — we  recog- 
nise all  the  marks  of  epilepsy.  St.  Matthew,  according  to 
whom  the  father  calls  his  son  a  lunatic,  carefully  preserves 
the  local  belief.  For  the  popular  prejudice  attributed  to 
the  phases  of  the  moon  a  great  influence  over  this  evil. 
However,  as  the  immediate  action  of  the  demon  is  at  the 
same  time  mentioned  by  our  Evangelists,  there  is  no  doubt 

[170] 


BOOK  11]  THE  TRANSFIGURATION 

that  the  epilepsy  was  merely  the  form  or  the  natural  result 
of  diabolic  obsession. 

As  he  appeared  before  the  Master,  whether  because  the 
demon's  fury  was  aroused,  as  had  happened  on  other  occa- 
sions, or  because  the  boy  himself  had  been  seized  by  too 
deep  an  emotion,  the  epileptic  attack  suddenly  came  upon 
him  in  all  its  intensity.  Jesus  stood  calm  and  authorita- 
tive before  this  painful  spectacle.  "How  long  time  is  it 
since  this  hath  happened  unto  him.'"'  He  said  to  the  father. 
"From  his  infancy,"  he  replied,  "and  oftentimes  hath  he 
cast  him  into  the  fire  and  into  waters  to  destroy  him.  But 
if  Thou  canst  do  anything,  help  us,  having  compassion  on 
us."  Jesus  responded:  "If  thou  canst  believe,  all  things 
are  possible  to  him  that  believeth." 

In  the  Master's  thought,  to  believe  is  to  identify  one's 
life  with  that  of  God  and  to  participate  thenceforward  in 
the  divine  power.  That  is  why  nothing  is  impossible  to 
true  believers.  Having  by  faith  become  sons  of  God,  they 
must  receive  visibly  the  fruits  of  so  sublime  a  sonship. 
By  the  domestic  hearthstone  the  child  is  strong  with  the 
very  strength  of  his  father.  "Beheve,  then,"  the  Saviour 
seems  to  say,  "and  the  infinite  power  of  God  will  pass  into 
your  hands  as  it  would  have  passed  into  the  hands  of  My 
disciples,  if  their  hearts,  a  moment  ago,  had  been  sincerely 
joined  with  Mine  and  with  God."  Faith  and  power  are 
one  in  the  kingdom  of  the  Gospel. 

These  words,  which  seem  to  displace  the  power  that 
operates  the  miracles,  astonish,  disturb,  and  transport  the 
poor  father.  He  would  like  to  believe,  and  to  believe 
strongly  enough  to  have  power;  but  it  is  the  desire  of 
faith  that  he  feels,  rather  than  faith  itself.  Yet  at  the 
command  of  paternal  love  everything  about  him,  eyes, 
lips,  hands,  and  heart  even,  unite  in  crying  out:  "I  be- 
lieve!"    But,  humble  and  candid,  he  will  not  conceal  the 

[171] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [pakt  second 

feebleness  of  his  nascent  faith.  On  the  other  hand,  if  it 
is  to  remain  too  feeble  for  the  working  of  the  miracle,  his 
Woe  would  be  inconsolable.  "I  do  believe,  Lord,"  and  he 
adds,  "help  mine  unbelief." 

Meanwhile  the  crowd  was  visibly  increasing.  Restless, 
sympathetic,  impatient,  they  were  pressing  around  Jesus. 
It  was  then  that,  with  a  gesture  of  authority  and  a  threat- 
ening voice,  He  said,  "Deaf  and  dumb  spirit,  I  command 
thee,  Go  out  of  him  and  enter  not  any  more  into  him." 
At  once  the  cries  and  the  convulsive  spasms  increased ;  it 
was  the  last  effort  of  the  vanquished  enemy  leaving  his 
place.  The  crisis  was  awful,  and  the  boy,  falling  imme- 
diately in  complete  prostration,  lay  as  if  lifeless.  They 
said :  "He  is  dead !"  But  Jesus,  taking  him  by  the  hand, 
restored  him  to  consciousness  and  gave  him  full  of  life 
and  health  to  his  father,  who  was  intoxicated  with  joy. 
The  Scribes  were  beaten.  Their  mockery  and  their  wicked 
words  recoiled  upon  themselves.  They  had  to  withdraw, 
confused  and  humiliated,  while  the  multitude  let  forth  its 
enthusiasm,  impressed  as  it  was  by  a  sense  of  the  great- 
ness of  God.^ 

When  the  Apostles  were  alone  with  Jesus  in  the  house 
where  they  were  being  entertained,  they  surrounded  Him 
to  ask  the  reason  of  their  failure.  Perhaps  they  still  felt 
the  severe  rebuke  which  had  been  given  to  the  crowd 
shortly  before  by  the  Master,  and  which  seemed  to  be 
directed  also  at  them.  "Why  could  not  we  cast  him  out.?" 
Jesus  said  to  them:  "Because  of  your  unbelief.  For, 
amen,  I  say  to  you" — and  here  the  Saviour  employed 
hyperbole  the  better  to  inculcate  His  thought — "if  you 

^  The  three  Synoptics  relate  this  cure  of  the  lunatic,  but  so  independently 
one  from  the  other  and  yet  agreeing  so  entirely  as  to  the  main  facts,  that  once 
more  we  find  it  impossible  to  entertain  the  thought  of  a  common  written 
source  from  which  they  drew.  The  account  given  by  St.  Mark  is  especially 
full  of  life  and  true  to  nature. 

[172] 


BOOK  II]  THE  TRANSFIGURATION 

have  faith  as  a  grain  of  mustard-seed,  you  shall  say  to 
this  mountain:  Remove  from  hence  hither,  and  it  shall 
remove,  and  nothing  shall  be  impossible  to  you.  But  this 
kind  is  not  cast  out  but  by  prayer  and  fasting." 

Was  there,  in  these  last  words,  a  reproach  addressed 
to  the  disciples,  who  were  at  all  times  too  absorbed  in 
material  thoughts,  or  who  were  perhaps  too  much  given 
to  some  exterior  distraction.?  Did  He  mean  to  say  that, 
like  the  thaumaturgus,  the  demoniac  himself  ought  to  be 
prepared  by  prayer  and  fasting  in  order  to  merit  a  mira- 
cle.? Many  have  thought  so,  but  it  is  hardly  probable, 
and  it  seems  more  natural  to  understand  that  faith,  in 
order  to  be  equal  to  the  impossible  and  more  particularly 
to  be  efficacious,  when  it  is  a  question  of  commanding 
demons,  must  find  its  twofold  nutriment  in  prayer  and  in 
voluntary  suffering.  Prayer  lifts  us  up  to  God,  and 
mortification,  proclaiming  our  empire  over  our  body,  re- 
leases us  from  those  earthly  miseries  which  check  our  moral 
flight.  Both  combine  to  render  the  soul  great  enough  in 
its  act  of  faith  to  vanquish  all  the  powers  of  hell. 


[173] 


CHAPTER    IX 
LAST  VISIT  TO   CAPHARNAUM 

Jesus  Again  Speaks  of  His  Death — The  Tax-Gather- 

EES  OF  CaPHARNAUM OuGHT  THE  MaSTEU  TO  PaY  THE 

Tribute? — Theoretical  and  Practical,  Solutions 
OF  THE  Question — He  Pays  for  Peter — Jealousy 
AND  Dispute  Concerning  the  Primacy — Jesus'  Ex- 
planation —  Admirable  Theory  as  Regards  the 
Primacy — The  Man  Whom  the  Disciples  Forbid  to 
Cast  Out  Demons — Scandal — The  Crime  and  Mis- 
fortune of  Those  Who  Seek  to  Destroy  the 
Church  by  Scandalising  Her  Children — The  Shep- 
herd's Love  for  His  Sheep.  (St.  Matthew  xvii,  22- 
27 ;  xviil,  1-14 ;  St.  Mark  ix,  30-50 ;  St.  Luke  ix,  43-50 ; 
xvii,  1-2;  xv,  3-7.) 

Amid  all  these  glorious  incidents,  at  no  time  is  Jesus 
without  the  thought  of  His  expiatory  sacrifice.  By  this 
thought  He  is  inspired  to  go  and  make  His  last  visit  to 
Capharnaum,  and  to  this  thought,  on  the  way,  He  unceas- 
ingly endeavours  to  lead  back  the  minds  of  His  disciples. 

Thus,  when  He  sees  them  full  of  pride  at  the  ovations 
of  the  multitudes — their  childlike  natures  passed  swiftly 
from  extreme  discouragement  to  the  liveliest  enthusiasm — 
He  said  to  them :  "Lay  you  up  in  your  hearts  these  words." 
For  a  day  cometh  when  the  memory  of  them  shall  not  be 

[174] 


BOOK  11]       LAST  VISIT  TO   CAPHARNAUM 

too  much  to  keep  their  faith  from  failing  at  the  sight  of 
the  humiliation  reserved  for  the  Son  of  Man.  For  it  is 
irrevocably  decreed:  "He  shall  be  betrayed  into  the  hands 
of  men  and  they  shall  kill  Him."  However,  this  shall  not 
be  forever,  for  on  "the  third  day  He  shall  rise  again." 
These  words,  calmly  spoken  in  a  tone  of  conviction,  brought 
back  suddenly  a  vague  impression  of  terror  upon  the  group 
of  travellers.  They  were  sad  during  all  the  time  of  the 
journey,  yet  they  dared  not  to  invite  the  Master  to  give 
longer  explanations,  so  great  was  their  fear  to  learn  too 
much  of  so  painful  a  subject. 

When  they  reached  Capharnaum,  the  cold  and  almost 
hostile  reception  given  them  proved  that  Jesus'  prophecies 
were  well  founded,  and  that  they  must  no  longer  count 
on  the  triumph  of  former  days. 

They  had  scarcely  established  themselves  when  already 
Peter  was  roughly  accosted  by  tax-gatherers,  who  said 
to  him :  "Doth  not  your  Master  pay  the  didrachma .?"  ^ 

^  The  didrachma  was  a  small  piece  of  silver  worth  two  Attic  drachmas, 
half  of  a  Hebrew  shekel,  or  of  a  Roman  stater,  about  thirty-one  cents  in 
United  States  money.  (Josephus,  Antiq.,  iii,  8,  2.)  This  was  tlie  amount 
which,  in  the  Mosaic  law  (Exod.  xxx,  13 ;  77  Paralip.  xxiv,  6 ;  Josephus, 
Antiq.,  xviii,  9),  enforced  again  on  tlie  return  from  the  captivity  (Esdras  x, 
32),  every  male  Israelite,  from  twenty  to  fifty  years  of  age,  was  boimd  to  pay 
annually  for  the  support  of  the  Temple  and  for  tlie  public  worship.  The 
Rabbis  were  probably  exempted.  There  was  therefore  something  odious 
in  this  tardy  demand  on  the  part  of  the  collectors;  for  this  tax  was  paid  after 
the  15th  of  Adar  (February-March).  At  that  time  they  had  not  demanded 
it  of  Jesus  either  because  tlie  collectors  had  not  met  Him  on  their  route,  or 
because  He  was  then  at  the  height  of  His  popularity  in  Galilee.  They 
exacted  it  now  because  they  met  Him  just  at  Capharnaum  and  because  they 
contested  His  character  as  prophet.  We  know,  moreover,  tliat  they  profited 
by  the  approach  of  every  great  festival  to  dun  again  those  in  arrears.  (Cf. 
Greswell,  Dissert.  Princ.  of  Harm.,  viii.)  Some  have  thought  that  there 
was  question  here  of  a  civil  impost  collected  in  Caesar's  name,  or  even  in 
the  name  of  Herod,  the  Tetraroh,  and  payable  any  day  in  the  year.  This 
would  not  be  impossible.  The  Romans  claimed  a  real  suzerainty  over 
Galilee,  and,  for  his  part,  Herod  did  not  hesitate  to  levy  a  tax  periodically 
upon  his  own  subjects.  Ordinarily  it  was  just  the  very  sum  exacted  for  the 
Temple  that  the  Jewish  sovereigns  demanded  for  themselves.  (Antiq.,  xiv, 
10,  6.)     Later  on,  Vespasian  followed  tlieir  example  (Bell.  Jud.,  vii,  26), 

[175] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [pabt  second 

"Yes,"  responded  Peter,  and  he  went  into  the  house  where 
Jesus  was,  to  ask  of  Him  the  amount  in  question. 

Before  Peter  had  time  even  to  explain,  Jesus  began  to 
question  him.~  Either  the  conversation  between  the  col- 
lector and  the  disciples  had  reached  His  ears,  or  He  wished 
to  prove  by  His  divine  knowledge  His  right  to  an  exemp- 
tion of  which  He  would  not  take  advantage.  "What  is 
thy  opinion,  Simon.?"  He  said  to  him.  "The  kings  of  the 
earth,  of  whom  do  they  receive  tribute  or  custom ;  of  their 
own  children  or  of  strangers.''"  Simon  responded:  "Of 
strangers" ;  and  Jesus  said  to  him,  "Then  the  children 
are  free." 

If  it  was  a  question  of  paying  the  tribute  to  the  Tem- 
ple could  He,  the  Son  of  God,  and  therefore  Master  of  the 
Temple,  be  forced  to  pay  the  tax  for  His  own  house.?  Did 
He  owe  any  ransom  to  His  own  Father,  when  He  was  giving 
even  His  life  to  satisfy  the  exactions  of  His  justice.? 

If  it  had  to  do  with  the  civil  taxes,  Jesus  could  appeal 
to  another  reason  for  exemption:  His  theocratic  royalty. 
The  kings  of  earth  reign  only  by  permission  of  the  King 
of  Heaven.  Their  power  comes  from  on  high,  and  there 
it  finds  its  sanction.  They  being  simply  God's  delegates, 
would  it  not  ill-become  them  to  demand  the  impost  from 
the  well-beloved  Son  of  Him  Who  delegates  them? 

Clearly,  in  either  case,  the  Master  was  referring  to  His 
divinity.  He  proved  it,  soon  after,  by  a  miracle.  "But 
that  we  may  not  scandalise  them,  go  to  the  sea,  and  cast 

and  it  may  be  questioned  if,  in  so  doing,  he  was  not  simply  re-establishing 
what  the  Csesars  had  regulated  before  him.  However,  the  term  rk  S^Spox^a 
employed  without  other  explanation  was  commonly  imderstood  as  the  tax 
for  the  Temple,  and  the  first  hypothesis  with  its  explanations  seems  the  more 
natural. 

^  That  is  the  real  meaning  of  the  word  irpoe<pdcurei'.  We  may  call  attention 
also,  in  the  intimate  tone  of  the  conversation,  to  the  affectionate  relations 
that  existed  between  the  Master  and  His  disciples.  The  Apostle  is  addressed 
by  the  familiar  name  of  Simon.  St.  Matthew  (xvii,  24)  is  the  only  one  who 
records  this  incident  for  us. 

[176] 


BOOK  II]       LAST  VISIT  TO   CAPHARNAUM 

in  a  hook ;  and  that  fish  which  shall  first  come  up,  take ;  and 
when  thou  hast  opened  its  mouth  thou  shalt  find  a  stater ; 
take  that  and  give  it  to  them  for  Me  and  thee."  His  first 
thought  is  to  quiet  the  conscience  of  the  weak.  Excellent 
as  are  His  reasons  for  exemption  from  the  obligation  of 
the  tax,  the  people,  indeed,  might  be  unable  to  understand 
them.  Some  would  be  shocked  by  His  refusal  as  by  an 
act  of  revolt,  and  others  would  profit  by  it  to  justify  their 
own  insubordination.  But  the  Son  of  Man  is  come  to 
edify,  not  to  scandalise.  He  decides  to  pay  the  tribute, 
but  He  will  pay  it  as  God,  Though  submitting  to  human 
laws  He  will  make  it  clear  that  by  a  higher  right  He  was 
dispensed  from  them.  The  King  will  employ  His  royal 
power  in  order  to  obey.  He  could  have  found,  indeed,  in 
the  common  treasury  or  in  that  of  His  friends  the  trifling 
sum  demanded  by  the  tax-gatherers,  but  by  paying  in  that 
way  He  would  identify  Himself  with  the  multitude  and 
would  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  He  was  the  Son  of  the 
King  of  Heaven.  The  condescension  with  which  one  re- 
nounces a  right  does  not  mean  its  suppression ;  frequently 
one  holds  it  a  matter  of  honour  that  the  right  be  proved. 
If,  theref oi-e,  as  really  happened,  in  fact,^  a  fish  eager  and 
docile  in  the  divine  service  brings  from  the  depths  of  the 
sea  the  pittance  which  discharged  Peter's  obligation  along 
with  His  jNIaster's  it  is  to  prove  in  the  eyes  of  the  multi- 
tude that,  though  Our  Lord  suffers  man's  exactions.  He 
is  absolute  Master  of  nature,  and  is  in  all  things  superior 
to  mankind. 

It  is  noteworthy   that  He  paid  for  Himself  and  for 
the  disciple  to  whom  He  had  promised  to  delegate  His 

^  Those  who  have  deemed  it  materially  impossible  for  a  stater  or  a  three- 
franc  piece  and  a  fish-hook  to  be  lodged  in  the  throat  of  a  fish,  are  not  aware 
that  the  Chromic  Simonis  of  the  Lake  of  Tiberias  hatches  its  eggs  and  raises  its 
young  in  its  mouth,  until  they  are  able  to  care  for  themselves.  We  have  seen 
this  for  ourselves  on  buying  one  of  these  fishes  which  we  ate  at  Tabigah. 

[177] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

authority,  as  if  Peter,  His  future  vicar,  would  henceforth 
be  but  one  with  Him.  The  very  terms  that  the  Master 
had  used,  plainly  indicated  that  the  official  representatives 
of  the  Church,  whatever  might  be  their  name,  would,  by 
divine  right,  be  forever  exempt  from  material  obligations 
that  are  incompatible  with  their  mission.  The  services  of 
a  superior  order  which  they  were  to  render  to  humanity 
would  well  seem,  even  to  the  most  exacting,  a  sufficient  com- 
pensation for  this  privilege. 

Thus  was  Peter's  particular  place  among  the  Twelve 
emphasised  more  and  more.  This  latest  incident  proved 
it.  It  suddenly  revived  the  discussion  that  had  excited 
them  during  the  journey  and  of  which  we  must  say  a 
few  words. 

The  question  was  which  of  the  Twelve  was  the  greatest 
in  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.  This  was  truly  a  puerile  and 
innocent  bit  of  vanity  betraying  all  the  simplicity  of  these 
humble  Galileans.  When  the  Master  arrived  the  discus- 
sion was  becoming  still  more  heated.  On  their  faces  He 
read  the  trouble  of  their  souls,  and  demanded  an  explana- 
tion. What  means  all  this  dissension  which  He  has  noticed 
on  the  way  and  which  still  continues.'*  Nothing  more  was 
needed  to  recall  them  to  themselves  and  to  make  them  blush 
for  their  foolish  concern.  At  first,  says  St.  Mark,  so  great 
was  their  confusion,  that  all  remained  silent.  But  they 
knew  well  that  Jesus  was  not  ignorant  of  that  which  He 
desired  to  make  them  confess,  and  they  began  resolutely 
to  ask  Him  themselves,  as  St.  Matthew  indicates,  the  solu- 
tion of  their  difficulty.  "Who  is  the  greater  in  the  King- 
dom of  Heaven.?"  they  said  to  Him.  In  reality  they 
changed  somewhat  the  question  that  had  divided  them. 
Before,  it  was  more  personal,  since  they  sought  to  know 
which  one,  at  that  moment,  was  the  first  in  the  society 
founded  by  the  Saviour.    By  making  it  more  general  they 

[178] 


BooKu]       LAST  VISIT  TO   CAPHARNAUM 

somewhat  concealed  the  unseemly  vanity  of  those  who  had 
propounded  it.  Jesus  sat  down  as  if  to  add  greater 
solemnity  to  His  answer.  He  called  the  Twelve,  so  that 
none  of  them  might  lose  this  sublime  lesson,  and  began 
by  saying,  as  St.  Mark,  whose  text  we  follow,  tells  us : 
"If  any  man  desire  to  be  first,  he  shall  be  the  last  of  all, 
and  the  minister  of  all." 

At  the  same  time,  the  better  to  emphasise  His  reply — 
the  Orientals  in  their  teaching  took  pleasure  in  speaking 
to  the  senses  the  more  surely  to  reach  the  mind — Jesus 
called  a  little  child  "*  to  His  side,  embraced  him  kindly, 
and,  placing  him  in  the  midst  of  His  disciples.  He  said: 
"Amen,  I  say  to  you,  unless  ye  be  converted  and  become 
as  little  children,  ye  shall  not  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven."  What  use,  then,  in  claiming  its  highest  dig- 
nity? Before  they  shall  know  who  is  to  be  first  or  last, 
they  must  first  be  incorporated  therein.  It  is  innocence, 
simplicity,  self-denial,  candour  that  open  its  gates.^  The 
nourishing  of  secret  ambitions,  the  desire  of  command,  of 
flattering  distinctions,  will  mean  inevitable  exclusion  there- 
from. The  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  a  family  of  cliildren 
under  the  authority  and  love  of  a  gracious  Father. 

Nevertheless,  if  they  desire  to  know  the  order  of  merit 
and  the  degrees  of  real  greatness,  here  is  the  principle 
which  serves  as  the  basis  of  the  whole  hierarchy  of  souls. 
"Whosoever  shall  humble  himself  as  this  little  child,  he  is 
the  greater  in  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven."  Thus  the  ab- 
sence of  all  self-seeking,  the  desire  to  be  unnoticed,  and, 
like  the  child,  to  count  for  nothing  in  society,  will  beget 
in  man  the  humility,  the  spirit  of  sacrifice,  and  charity 

*  Early  tradition  had  it  that  this  child  was  Ignatius,  later  Bishop  of  Antioch 
and  celebrated  for  his  glorious  martyrdom.     (Nicephorus,  H.  E.,  ii,  35.) 

'"Amat  Christus  infantiam,"  says  St.  Leo  (Senri.  xxxvi,  de  Epiph., 
7,  6),  "quam  primum  et  animo  suscepit  et  corpore.  Amat  infantiam 
humilitatis  magistram,  innocentije  regulam,  mansuetudinis  formam. 

[179] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

which  alone  are  the  real  steps  by  which  he  rises.  The 
more  he  devotes  himself  to  the  service  of  others  through 
self -depreciation,  the  more  he  advances  in  merit  before 
God ;  the  more  he  seeks  to  be  last  through  self-denial,  the 
more  surely  he  shall  become  first.  In  spite  of  the  appar- 
ent paradox  of  it,  nothing  is  more  profoundly  true  or 
more  divine  than  this  doctrine.  It  has  inspired  prodigies 
of  heroism  and  of  sanctity  in  souls  that  have  understood 
it,  and  whose  rule  of  morahty  it  has  become.  The  Church 
has  at  all  times  done  justice  to  the  men  who,  thoroughly 
devoid  of  thought  of  self,  have  been  found  generously  filled 
with  the  spirit  of  God. 

However,  in  the  Kingdom  founded  by  Jesus  Christ  there 
is  another  order  of  dignity,  which  arises  not  from  the 
individual  worth  of  men,  but  which  God  communicates  as 
a  gratuitous  gift:  namely,  the  hierarchy  of  the  ministry. 
It  is  with  regard  to  this  especially  that  the  Apostles  ap- 
pear to  be  troubled.  In  His  reply  the  Master  touches 
briefly  on  this  point.  He  clearly  explains  the  truth  con- 
cerning this  hierarchical  greatness,  and  gives  them  to 
understand  that  instead  of  being  man's  possession,  it  is 
exclusively  God's.  For  the  mission  of  proclaiming  Jesus 
Christ,  which  different  souls  receive  in  different  degrees, 
separates  them,  no  doubt,  from  the  multitude  and  assures 
them  an  undeniable  superiority,  but  this  superiority  is  but 
a  borrowed  one.  The  greatness  of  the  Apostle,  of  the 
bishop,  of  the  priest,  is  no  other  than  the  greatness  of  the 
Master  Who  has  chosen  them.  Children  remain  children 
although  they  have  in  them  Him  Who  makes  them  doctors 
and  Apostles.  If  they  were  not  children  they  would  not 
be  of  the  Kingdom;  only  such  children  possess  God  and 
the  dignity  of  God.  "Whosoever  shall  receive  one  such 
child  as  this  in  My  name,"  continues  Jesus,  "receiveth  Me, 
and  whosoever  receiveth  Me,  receiveth  not  Me  but  Him  that 

[  180  ] 


BOOK  II]       LAST  VISIT  TO   CAPHARNAUM 

sent  Mc."  This  was  as  much  as  to  say  that,  properly- 
speaking,  there  is  in  the  Church  only  one  priesthood,  His 
own,  of  which  the  Apostles  shall  become  the  ministers. 
Thus  all  personal  self-seeking  must  be  suppressed.  If 
they  have  any  influence,  any  success,  any  honour,  they 
must  attribute  them,  not  to  their  personal  worth,  but  to 
Him  alone  Whose  envoys  and  representatives  they  are. 
May  the  tool  boast  of  the  work  it  has  done.  Does  not  the 
merit  belong  to  the  workman  who  has  used  it.''  The  only 
honour  then  to  dream  of  in  the  new  Church  shall  be  that 
of  submitting  generously  to  the  divine  influence  in  order 
to  transmit  it  to  others ;  and  if,  in  the  dispensation  of 
grace,  there  are  diff^erent  degrees  in  the  new  priesthood, 
it  must  nevertheless  be  acknowledged  that,  in  the  last 
analysis,  these  degrees  are  united  in  the  one  eternal  Pontiff' 
Jesus  Christ  Who  lives,  speaks,  and  acts  through  those 
whom  He  has  delegated.  For  the  Master  alone  remains 
first,  second,  and  third  in  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.  His 
co-labourers  rise  only  in  proportion  to  the  eff'orts  they 
make  in  self-eff"acement  and  in  the  showing  forth  of  Him 
in  His  divine  and  unique  activity.  The  Christian  theory 
of  the  primacy  is  summed  up  in  this  wise:  God  alone  is 
of  any  value  in  His  ministers ;  man  is  nothing  but  by 
his  God. 

As  they  hear  these  sublime  assertions,  the  Apostles 
perceive  how  frequently  they  have  been  mistaken  in  their 
human  calculations.  More  particularly,  they  did  not  know 
that  He  Who  came  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  ought  to  be 
received  and  respected  as  the  Lord  Himself.  Since  they 
are  now  well  disposed  to  make  avowals,  they  determine  to 
tell  all  and  to  confess  a  recent  fault  committed  through 
their  jealous  exclusiveness.  It  is  John  who  speaks.  We 
shall  see  him  come  forward  more  than  once  in  the  days 
that  are  to  follow.     His  soul  seems  to  have  passed  through 

[181] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

a  special  crisis  of  religious  enthusiasm  at  this  time.  "Mas- 
ter," said  he,  "we  saw  a  certain  man  ^  casting  out  devils 
in  Thy  name,  and  we  forbade  him  because  he  f olloweth  not 
with  us."  And  Jesus  said  to  him,  "Do  not  forbid  liim, 
for  there  is  no  man  that  doth  a  miracle  in  My  name  and 
can  soon  speak  ill  of  Me,  for  he  that  is  not  against  you  is 
for  you." 

At  first  glance  this  last  apothegm  would  seem  to  con- 
tradict another  saying  of  the  Master's :  "He  who  is  not 
with  us  is  against  us."  In  reality  it  is  not  so;  for  while 
elsewhere  He  spoke  of  works  similar  to  His  own  in  result, 
but  not  in  principle,  namely  of  false  miracles  due  to  dia- 
bolical intervention,  here  He  means  prodigies  attempted 
in  His  name.  In  the  first  case,  the  foundation  of  the  work 
was  infected  with  evil;  that  is  why  not  to  be  with  Him 
was  to  be  against  Him.  In  the  second,  the  cause  of  the 
work  is  not  bad,  for  to  demand  or  to  attempt  a  miracle 
in  His  name,  even  though  with  imperfect  faith,  signifies 
that  one  is  a  friend  rather  than  an  enemy ;  this  is  why 
He  declares  that  such  a  one  is  not  against  Him.  The 
truth  is  that  the  hostility  of  the  one  and  the  goodwill  of 
the  other  are  measured  by  the  interior  dispositions  that 
actuate  them. 

He  who  was  attempting  to  cast  out  devils  thus  was,  if 
not  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  authentically  delegated  by 
the  Master,  at  least  a  soul  enlightened  by  the  divine  word, 
touched  by  grace,  and  growing  by  faith  in  the  super- 
natural life.  In  either  hypothesis,  they  must  let  him  go 
on  and  must  show  him  their  goodwill.  If  he  was  a  novice 
in  the  faith,  a  little  child  scarcely  yet  born  in  the  Heavenly 

'  Many  commentators  understand  that  this  man  had  the  desire  but  not 
the  power  of  casting  out  de\als.  "It  is  not  unusual,"  says  Maldonatus, 
"  for  a  verb  to  denote  what  one  would  like  to  do  and  not  what  one  has  done, 
the  effort,  but  not  the  effect  (affectum,  sed  non  effectum)."  It  appears  that 
the  right  of  exorcism  had  as  yet  been  granted  only  to  the  twelve  Apostles. 

[182] 


BOOK  II]       LAST  VISIT  TO   CAPHARNAUM 

Kingdom,  a  new  arrival  on  the  Gospel  frontier,  what  a 
crime  it  would  be  brutally  to  repel  him  and  to  stifle  the 
spark  that  was  growing  within  him!  If  he  was  in  heart 
and  mind  one  of  the  Apostolic  family,  though  not  follow- 
ing it  ostensibly,  what  a  sacrilege  to  pretend  to  bind  a 
power  that  God  has  authorised,  an  influence  which,  far 
from  aspiring  to  the  highest  posts  in  the  hierarchy,  was 
being  exercised  with  humility  and  disinterestedness  in  the 
advancement  of  the  Messianic  work ! 

Unfortunately  and  inevitably,  jealousy,  that  poisons  all 
undertakings ;  intolerance,  that  checks  them ;  blind  zeal, 
that  destroys  them  without  distinction,  will  often  hide  be- 
neath the  mantle  of  the  Church  to  check  the  free  expansion 
of  her  holy  activity.  For  far  greater  reason  then  must  we 
expect  to  find  them  in  the  world,  perhaps  under  differ- 
ent names,  but  with  even  greater  fury.  Faithful  souls, 
whether  at  the  summit  of  perfection,  or  as  yet  hardly  born 
in  the  Christian  life,  whether  in  the  hierarchy  of  the  min- 
istry or  in  the  humility  of  every-day  life,  wilk always  meet 
with  difficulties  and  stumbling-blocks.  Philosophy  in  her 
pride  will  follow  them  with  arguments,  politics  with  inter- 
ested suggestions,  passion  with  its  dangerous  influences. 
But  woe  to  the  man  that  shall  scandalise  them,  small  or 
great  as  they  may  be,  in  their  humility  and  their  sim- 
plicity !  Rather  than  be  a  persecutor,  an  evil  counsellor, 
or  a  bad  example  for  them,  "it  were  better  for  him  that 
a  millstone  were  hanged  about  his  neck,^  and  he  were  cast 
into  the  sea."     This  punishment  was  less  severe  than  to 

'  It  is  of  little  importance  to  know  whether  such  a  punishment  was  in  use 
among  the  Jews  or  not.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  we  know  from  Josephus,  Anfiq., 
xiv,  16,  10,  that  it  was  practised  in  Galilee:  tovs'  HpuSov  iv  rf)  \ifivri  Kareirov- 
rdaav.  It  was  employed  also  in  Phcenicia.  Jesus  here  seeks  to  show  by 
a  picture  the  awfulness  of  attempting  the  ruin  of  one  of  His  faithful.  The 
stone  spoken  of  was  that  which  was  turned,  not  by  a  slave,  but  by  an  ass 
ifivXos  ovikSs).  Ovid  (Fasti,  vi,  318)  speaks  of  it:  "Et  quoe  puniceas  versat 
asella  molas."     The  expression  itself  is  found  in  Julian  (Oral.,  6,  p.  19S). 

[183] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

fall  into  eternity  beneath  the  awful  weight  of  a  soul  lost 
through  another's  fault. 

And  yet  this  crime  will  not  be  a  rare  one.  After  stig- 
matising it  severely,  Jesus  stops  for  a  moment.  His  gaze 
penetrates  the  future,  and  with  a  glance  He  embraces  all 
the  actions  of  man  against  truth  and  virtue,  and  heaves  a 
deep  sigh  of  sadness  and  of  indignation.  "Woe  to  the 
world  because  of  scandals,"  He  cries  out,  "for  it  must 
needs  be  that  scandals  come,  but  nevertheless  woe  to  the 
man  by  whom  the  scandal  cometh!"  The  only  means  of 
preventing  this  abuse  of  liberty  would  be  the  suppression 
of  liberty  itself;  but  in  that  case  divine  wisdom  would 
destroy  its  own  master-work,  and  undo  that  which  it  had 
so  marvellously  organised.  Would  man  still  be  man,  were 
he  no  longer  free?  The  providential  plan  permits,  rather, 
that  there  shall  always  be  souls  desirous  of  evil  in  them- 
selves and  around  themselves,  "/f  must  needs  he,''  says 
the  Master.  However,  as  nothing  obliges  man  to  be  per- 
verse, since  in  reality  he  always  retains  his  free-will, 
he  will  be  eternally  responsible  to  God  for  having  chosen 
and  desired  evil,  whereas  it  was  so  reasonable  to  prefer 
the  good.  If  the  thought  of  tempting  simple,  upright 
souls  comes  from  within  him,  let  him  violently  stifle  it  in  his 
heart.  If  it  comes  to  him  from  without,  let  him  forcibly 
reject  the  vile  suggestion.  Let  him  suffer  anything  rather 
than  co-operate  with  evil  or  enter  into  an  alliance  with  the 
wicked.  Cut  oiF  the  hand  ^  and  the  foot,  pluck  out  the 
eye  that  would  lead  to  scandal.  It  were  better  to  enter 
into  the  Kingdom  of  God  with  one  eye,  one  hand,  or  one 

*  There  is  no  doubt  here  at  least  that  Jesus,  on  two  different  occasions, 
made  use  of  the  same  figures.  If  St.  Mark  alone  had  the  triple  metaphor 
of  hand,  foot,  and  eye,  it  would  be  a  question  which  of  the  two  evangelists 
had  put  it  in  its  right  place.  But  St.  ]Matthew  by  repeating  it  here,  after 
having  already  mentioned  it  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  shows  that  Jesus 
more  than  once  in  His  discourses  used  the  same  thoughts  in  the  same  form 
and  before  the  same  hearers. 

[184] 


BOOK  II]       LAST  VISIT  TO  CAPHARNAUM 

foot  than  to  be  cast  unmaimed  into  hell-fire,  "where  the 
worm  dieth  not  and  the  fire  is  not  extinguished.  For 
every  one  shall  be  salted  with  fire ;  and  every  victim  shall 
be  salted  with  salt." 

It  is  clear  that  scandal  is  going  to  be  the  great  danger 
of  the  moment,  the  engine  of  war  which  the  Pharisaical 
party  will  put  in  action  to  attempt  the  destruction  of  the 
Galilean  Church,  built  up  with  such  patience  and  guarded 
with  such  solicitude.  This  thought  arouses  the  Master's 
holy  wrath  and  inspires  the  awful  picture  of  the  punish- 
ments reserved  for  the  guilty.  Isaias  had  said  to  the 
Jews,^  that  from  the  gates  of  the  city  they  would  behold 
the  bodies  of  the  enemies  of  Jehovah,  of  the  wicked  and 
of  traitors,  lying  in  the  plain.  Worms  would  never  cease 
to  devour  them,  nor  fire  to  consume  them,  not  merely  be- 
cause the  criminals  would  be  innumerable,  but  because  it 
would  be  God's  will  to  leave  this  fearful  spectacle  to  con- 
tinue there  forever.  It  is  the  prophetic  menace  that  Jesus 
takes  pains  to  repeat. 

The  workers  of  scandal,  too,  will  be  counted  among  the 
adversaries  of  Jehovah,  for  they  shall  have  killed  His 
faithful.  They  in  turn  shall  be  seen  stretched  upon  the 
horrible  battle-field,  where,  victims  of  the  anger  of  heaven, 
they  shall  be  penetrated  with  salt  that  smarts  but  which 
will  preserve  them  from  decomposition.  This  salt  will  be 
nothing  else  than  the  fire  employed  in  consuming  them. 
At  the  same  time,  remorse,  like  a  pitiless  worm,  will  feed 
upon  their  hearts.  Thus,  after  the  days  of  mercy,  the 
eternal  sacrifice  shall  be  accomplished  wherein  nothing  shall 
be  wanting  to  restore  the  order  which  for  a  moment  had 
been  disturbed.  All  creatures  shall  be  before  God  in  the 
only  state  that  belongs  to  them,  that  of  victims — some, 
the  happy  victims  of  love  in  the  glorious  transformation 

'  Isaias  Ixvi,  24. 

[185] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [pakt  second 

of  heaven ;  others,  the  accursed  victims  of  hate  in  the  fire 
of  the  pit  of  hell.  A  mystical  salt  shall  envelop  them  in 
eternal  suffering.  And  that  is  how  he  who  shall  not  have 
consented  to  keep  the  salt  of  wisdom  upon  earth  shall  find 
the  salt  of  woe  amid  the  braziers  of  eternity.  "Salt  is 
good,"  Jesus  adds ;  "but  if  the  salt  become  unsavoury, 
wherewith  will  you  season  it?  Have  salt  in  you,  and  have 
peace  among  you." 

Alas !  how  often  the  absence  of  this  salt  in  humanity 
was  to  trouble  the  religious  life  of  the  Church  and  to 
hinder  her  development !  How  often  pride  and  ambition, 
instead  of  humility,  were  to  beget  schism,  heresy,  infidelity ! 
How  often  cruelty  was  to  estrange  the  poor  weak  lamb 
from  the  fold!  How  often  fanaticism  with  lips  closed 
against  charity,  was  to  put  human  passion  in  God's  place ! 
Fools !  for  the  want  of  salt,  they  have  lived  pitiless  in  their 
jealousy,  cruel  in  their  pride  as  rebellious  heretics,  perse- 
cutors, hypocrites,  calumniators,  ravenous  wolves  within 
the  fold.  In  requital  they  shall  have  found  in  death  the 
salt  of  eternal  justice. 

To  withdraw  themselves  from  God's  influence  and  to 
remain  unbelievers  is  in  itself  a  great  crime  on  the  part 
of  the  Pharisees ;  but  to  deprive  God  of  the  souls  to  whom 
He  gives  His  tenderest  care,  to  rob  the  Shepherd  of  His 
most  cherished  sheep,  and  to  violate  the  rights  of  love,  no 
less  than  those  of  property,  is  the  most  daring  of  crimes. 
"See  that  ye  despise  not  one  of  these  little  ones,"  says 
Jesus,  "for  I   say  to  you  that  their  angels   in  heaven^ *^ 

^^  These  ideas  of  the  protection  of  angels  assiu-ed  to  man  were  no  cause  of 
surprise  to  the  ancients.  The  pagans  had  it  from  their  poets  that  Jupiter 
sent  spirits  to  earth  to  protect  mortals,  to  watch  and  to  judge  their  works 
(Hesiod,  Opera  et  Dies,  lib.  i,  vers.  121);  their  philosophers  taught  that  these 

Eirits  were  our  witnesses  in  the  present  and  in  the  future  life  (Plato,  De 
•gibus,  lib.  x).  As  for  the  Jews,  in  their  Holy  Books  they  read  that  God 
had  given  to  the  just  man  an  angel  guardian  (Ps.  xxxiii,  8,  etc.) ;  to  their 
ancestors  an  angel  to  guide  them  to  the  desert  (Exod.  xxxiii,  20,  etc.) ;  to  tlieir 

[186] 


BOOK  II]       LAST  VISIT  TO   CAPHARNAUM 

always  see  the  face  of  My  Father  Who  is  in  Heaven."  The 
punishment  will  be  striking  if  it  is  in  proportion  to  the 
dignity  of  these  souls  whose  protectors,  like  princes  in  the 
Heavenly  Kingdom,  contemplate  face  to  face  the  King  of 
Kings.^^  It  will  be  certain,  if  it  is  intrusted  to  friends 
so  devoted  and  to  hands  so  redoubtable.  Besides  the 
princes  of  the  Heavenly  Kingdom  are  not  the  only  avengers 
of  the  souls  whom  it  was  their  mission  to  guard.  Did  not 
the  Son  of  Man  Himself  come  down  from  heaven  to  save 
that  which  was  lost?  The  fruit  of  His  redemption  shall 
not  be  destroyed  with  impunity  by  scandal.  His  anger 
against  these  ravishing  wolves  shall  be  measured  by  His 
love  for  His  cherished  sheep.  He  will  be  unsparing,  and 
will  eternally  exact  from  the  scandal-giver  the  soul  he  shall 
have  ruined,  whether  it  be  the  soul  of  the  priest  or  the 
soul  of  the  simple  neophyte,  the  soul  brave  in  faith  and 
in  charity  or  the  soul  doubting  and  undecided. 

The  formal  and  immutable  will  of  the  Father,  the  Son 
knows  it  well,  is  that  there  shall  not  perish  even  one  of 
these  faithful,  humble  little  children,  born  but  yesterday 
to  the  Gospel,  simple  and  unpretentious,  despite  their  vir- 
tues and  their  merit,  and  all  worthy  of  respect,  inviolable, 
sacred,  because  they  are  branded  with  His  own  name  and 
destined  to  share  His  glory. 

privileged  nation,  Michael  as  protector  {Daniel  x,  13) ;  and,  finally,  to  the 
peoples  of  the  earth,  as  later  on  to  the  diflFerent  Christian  communities, 
neavenly  spirits  to  watch  over  their  prosperity  {Deut.  xxxii,  8) ;  cf.  Schottgen 
on  this  passage  of  the  Gospel,  p.  151.  These  doctrines,  ancient  as  the 
world,  belong  to  the  sum  of  truth  that  has  nevertheless  remained  the  inalien- 
able possession  of  mankind. 

"This  picture  is  taken  from  the  customs  of  the  Orient,  where  the  sub- 
lects  were  only  rarely  admitted  into  the  presence  of  the  monarch  and  where 
it  was  permitted  only  to  the  highest  nobles  to  remain  at  all  times  before  him. 
The  true  servants  of  the  Gospel,  therefore,  have  as  protectors  the  highest 
powers  of  Heaven. 


[187] 


CHAPTER    X 

DISCOURSE   ON   THE   FORGIVENESS 
OF   INJURIES 

Jesus'  Reasons  for  Speaking  of  Fraternal  Correc- 
tion —  Prudence  and  Caution  in  Charity  —  The 
Denunciation  to  the  Church — Excommunication 
— How  Often  Must  One  Forgive? — The  Master's 
Admirable  Response — The  Parable  of  the  Debtor. 
(St.  Matthew  xviii,  15-35.) 

In  all  probability,  lively  words  had  been  exchanged  dur- 
ing the  discussion  concerning  the  primacy ;  hurt  feelings 
had  been  produced  and  rancour  threatened  to  trouble  the 
cordial  understanding  that  had  thus  far  reigned  among 
the  Apostles. 

Thus  obstacles  were  being  multiplied  to  compromise  the 
work  of  the  Messiah,  step  by  step  with  its  advance.  Fol- 
lowing close  upon  rivalry,  jealousy,  and  the  danger  of 
scandal  came  intestinal  dissensions,  personal  dislikes,  that 
awful  solvent  that  dismembers  and  kills  the  most  strongly 
organised  societies. 

Jesus  observes  this  danger,  and,  leaving  the  evil  no  time 
to  spread  its  venom.  He  says:  "But  if  thy  brother  shall 
offend  against  thee,  go  and  rebuke  him  between  thee  and 
him  alone.  If  he  shall  hear  thee,  thou  shalt  gain  thy 
brother."     Unity,  family-love,  the  care  for  one's  honour 

[188] 


BOOK  11]         FORGIVENESS  OF  INJURIES 

and  sanctity  are  sufficient  to  inspire  this  conduct.  Inas- 
much as  all  the  disciples  of  Jesus  Christ  are  brothers  and 
members  of  the  same  society,  the  Church,  their  first  duty 
is  to  love  one  another  sincerely.  If  one  happens  to  off"end 
either  by  giving  scandal,  by  the  suspicious  character  of 
his  morals,  or  by  compromising  his  faith,  or  by  doing  us 
a  personal  injury,  immediately  without  waiting  for  him 
to  go  farther,  or  even  to  recognise  his  error,  we  must  go 
and  seek  him,  and  endeavour  kindly  and  bravely  to  show 
him  the  sin,  the  wrongs  which  as  yet  he  docs  not  see.  A 
false  brother  would  have  scorned  him  in  his  weakness  or 
would  have  abandoned  him  in  his  sin.  We  shall  avoid  this 
double  excess  by  a  prudent  charity.  Alone  together,  we 
shall  make  known  to  him  his  fault  against  us  or  against 
society.  If  our  heart  finds  words  sufficiently  persuasive 
to  move  the  poor  erring  one  to  reflect,  we  shall  have  saved 
our  brother,  and  our  merit  will  be  the  greater  in  propor- 
tion as  the  crime  of  him  whose  scandal  was  destroying  it 
was  detestable.  Our  self-love,  it  is  true,  must  be  sacrificed 
in  giving  up  our  desire  for  public  reparation ;  and  our 
pride,  too,  which  might  have  moved  us  to  stand  aloof  in 
our  anger  and  await  the  first  advance  from  him,  and,  per- 
haps, even  our  right,  which  might  have  exacted  public 
justice.  But  what  matters  that?  Is  not  the  reward 
worth  the  sacrifice?  To  have  saved  him  who  has  a  guard- 
ian angel  in  heaven,  to  have  led  back  the  lamb  which  the 
Son  of  God  came  to  seek  and  to  redeem  on  earth,  is  no 
ordinary  achievement.  It  means  a  share  in  the  very  work 
of  the  Redemption,  by  recalling  to  life  one  who  was  dead. 
It  means  the  gaining  of  our  brother,  and  the  life  restored 
to  our  neighbour  enhances  the  value  of  our  own.  The 
saved  soul  cries  to  heaven  in  our  behalf,  as  the  lost  soul 
cries  out  against  us. 

"And  if  he  will  not  hear  thee,  take  with  thee  one  or  two 
[189] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

more:  that  in  the  mouth  of  two  or  three  witnesses  every 
word  may  stand."  This  will  not  be,  as  yet,  a  public  decla- 
ration, but  this  first  formality  of  justice  may  fill  him  with 
a  salutary  fear;  the  support  that  one  will  find  in  those 
who  accompany  him  will  aid,  perhaps,  in  convincing  and 
in  persuading  him.  Ashamed  of  his  fault  with  which  all 
together  reproach  him,  but  without  too  much  publicity 
and  by  appealing  to  his  honour,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
frightened  by  a  procedure  that  begins  in  the  presence 
of  witnesses,  he  will,  perhaps,  repent.  The  witnesses 
themselves  may  offer  him  a  way  of  arranging  the  mat- 
ter more  acceptable  than  one's  own  proposals  for 
peace. 

"And  if  he  will  not  hear  them,  tell  the  Church;  and  if 
he  will  not  hear  the  Church,  let  him  be  to  thee  as  the 
heathen  and  publican."  Here  end  the  external  marks  of 
charity.  If  the  culprit,  hardened  in  his  sin,  scorns  the 
solemn  warning  of  the  Christian  society,  if  he  means  to 
persevere  in  his  crime  against  God  and  against  man,  we 
can  still  pray  for  him  in  the  depths  of  our  hearts,  but 
as  far  as  our  public  relations  are  concerned  the  bonds  of 
fraternity  are  burst.  Having  ignored  the  voice  of  author- 
ity within  the  family,  he  deserves  that  all  fraternal  obliga- 
tions toward  him  should  cease.  He  is  henceforth  like  the 
heathen  who  has  never  known  the  truth,  or  like  the  publican 
who  has  denied  it  by  his  misconduct. 

This  right  of  excommunication  is  the  Church's  arm  of 
defence,  Peter  first  received  it  in  the  name  of  all,  after 
his  famous  profession  of  faith  on  the  way  to  Caesarea ;  the 
Apostles  receive  it  individually  in  the  words  which  the 
Master  adds :  "Amen  I  say  to  you,  whatsoever  you  shall 
bind  upon  earth,  shall  be  bound  also  in  heaven,  and  Avhat- 
soever  you  shall  loose  upon  earth,  shall  be  loosed  also  in 
heaven."      A   strongly   organised   society  must   have   the 

[  190  ] 


BooKii]  FORGIVENESS      OF  INJURIES 

right  to  cut  off  the  rotten  members  that  disgrace  her, 
and  it  is  in  the  hands  of  her  rulers  that  this  power  is 
placed.  The  Christian  Church  has  a  twofold  life,  a  life 
of  earth  and  a  hfe  of  heaven,  the  one  a  preparation  for 
the  other.  To  deprive  one  of  communion  with  the  Church 
here  below  must  be  to  deprive  him  of  communion  with  God 
on  high.  For  there  is  but  one  only  Church,  in  different 
conditions.  That  Church  alone  shall  be  saved.  He  who 
remains  not  with  her,  who  is  not  a  member  of  her,  is  and 
shall  be  given  over  to  damnation  and  to  eternal  pain. 
Excommunication  on  earth  necessarily  has  its  counter- 
part in  heaven.  God  ratifies  that  which  the  authority  of 
His  hierarchy  solemnly  decrees. 

This  authority  has  no  need  of  speaking  by  the  mouth 
of  all  its  representatives  in  order  to  judge  the  guilty. 
"If  two  of  you,"  ^  says  Jesus,  "shall  consent  upon  earth, 
concerning  anything  whatsoever  they  shall  ask,  it  shall  be 
done  to  them  by  My  Father  Who  is  in  heaven."  Whereby 
we  see  that  the  ecclesiastical  power  must  take  counsel  be- 
fore chastising  the  guilty.  It  were  becoming,  even,  that 
its  sentence  should  proceed  as  a  prayer,  and  leave  it  to 
God  to  grant  it  if  it  be  just,  or  not  to  grant  it  if  it  be 
guided  by  error  or  by  passion.  Whenever  the  accused  Is 
truly  culpable,  God  will  ratify  it.  If  Jesus  has  promised 
to  be  present  wherever  two  or  three  are  gathered  together 
In  His  name,  for  far  greater  reason  will  He  be  by  the 
side  of  His  ministers  when  they  fulminate  excommunica- 
tion against  the  obdurate. 


^  This  agrees  with  Jesus'  thought  of  sending  the  Apostles  or  the  disciples 
not  separately,  but  by  twos.  This  left  nothing  to  the  caprice  of  men.  For 
the  validity  of  excommunication,  He  demands  the  perfect  agreement  of 
two  souls  who  ask  God  to  execute  their  sentence.  This  agreement,  which 
is  difBcult  for  the  wicked,  who  are  frequently  able  to  unite  their  malice  but 
seldom  their  hearts,  is  a  guarantee  given  to  the  faithful  against  the  abuse  of 
a  power  which  would  be  formidable  were  it  not  wisely  regulated. 


[191] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [pakt  second 

Such  were  the  rules  ^  of  charity  and  of  justice  which 
were  to  preside  over  the  development  of  the  various  nas- 
cent Churches,  and  to  guard  them  against  the  elements 
of  corruption  which  humanity  ever  bears  within  itself. 
We  know  how  from  the  beginning,  every  Christian  com- 
munity was  only  a  family  in  which  each  member  watched 
over  his  brother's  virtue,  while  the  father  exercised  supreme 
authority  in  expelling  from  his  hearth  the  refractory  and 
perverse  son.  Everything  was  done  with  kindness,  sanc- 
tity, and  justice,  forewarning,  segregating,  and  chastis- 
ing. Those  were  happy  times  when  the  title  of  Christian 
thus  surrounded  men  with  salutary  legislation  and  an  in- 
fluence wholly  of  love!  To  be  sure  civil  society  kept  her 
rights  over  the  disciples  of  Jesus  Christ,  but  without  inter- 
dicting the  religious  society  from  the  exercise  of  hers. 
The  State  had  only  the  jurisdiction  of  bodies,  the  Church 
held  and  exercised  full  jui'isdiction  of  souls.  Under  this 
discipline — accepted  by  all  and  consequently  terrible  to 
bad  Christians  —  of  cutting  off  without  pity  the  dead 
branches  of  the  tree,  the  Christian  society,  ever  more  vigor- 
ous after  the  most  cruel  operations,  soon  filled  the  world 
with  her  beauty  and  her  fruits.  Then  it  was  seen  that  cut- 
ting off  the  hand  and  plucking  out  the  eye  insured  ful- 
ness and  fecundity  of  life.  The  Church  need  not  seek 
to  know  the  number  of  her  children ;  she  lives  only  by 
their  worth. 

Peter,  as  the  appointed  head  of  this  Church,  and  per- 
haps, for  personal  reasons,  also — for  it  Is  somewhat  prob- 
able  that  the  dispute  concerning  the  primacy  arose  be- 

^  It  has  been  said  that  in  this  Jesus  only  brought  to  the  Christian  society 
a  practice  in  vogue  in  the  Synagogue.  Whatever  the  correctness  of  this 
statement,  which  is  sustained  by  several  passages  of  the  Talmud  (see  Light- 
foot  on  this  passage  of  St.  Matthew,  and  Vit/inga,  De  Synag.  Vet.,  97),  it 
cannot  be  denied  that,  if  the  discipline  was  not  new,  the  spirit  was  ab- 
solutely new;  it  was  a  grafting  on  the  stock. 

[192] 


BOOK  11]  FORGIVENESS  OF  INJURIES 

cause  of  him — approached  Jesus  and  asked  Him,  how  many 
times  Church  disciphne  or  individual  charity  ought  to  for- 
give a  repentant  sinner:  "Till  seven  times?"  He  certainly 
considered  this  a  great  concession.  Jewish  casuistry,  re- 
lying on  certain  passages  of  Scripture,^  counselled  in- 
dulgence to  the  extent  of  three  times  to  the  same  culprit; 
but  this  was  the  limit  of  forgiveness.  Peter  thought,  in- 
deed, that  the  New  Law,  full  of  love  and  gentleness,  was 
to  go  farther,  but  to  pardon  seven  times — this  was  the 
number  of  the  jubilee  year — seemed  to  him  to  be  the 
supreme  effort  of  kindness.  He  knew  not  that  in  this 
pardon  of  injuries  man  simply  grants  to  others  what  he 
himself  is  to  obtain  in  far  greater  proportion  from  God. 
He  forgives  that  he  may  be  forgiven.  Therefore  indul- 
gence in  favour  of  one's  brethren  could  have  no  other 
limits  than  one's  own  frailty.  Besides  is  it  not  of  the 
essence  of  true  love  to  engender  inexhaustible  mercy,  par- 
ticularly where  there  is  repentance.?  Jesus  replied:  "I 
say  not  to  thee,  till  seven  times,  but  till  seventy  times 
seven  times."  "*  That  is  to  say  indefinitely,  as  He  hastened 
to  prove  by  a  touching  parable. 

"Therefore  is  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  likened  to  a  king, 
who  would  take  an  account  of  his  servants."  The  King 
is  God,  and  we  are  His  servants.  Often,  before  the 
solemn  and  final  review  of  the  works  that  determine  our 
eternity,  the  Master  finds  an  opportunity  of  inviting  us 
to  examine  our  lives  and  to  consider  our  wants.  Be  it 
the  voice  of  conscience  accentuated  by  grace,  be  it  a  word 
that  stirs  and  enlightens  the  depths  of  our  soul,  a  stroke 
of  adversity,  or  a  sign  given  us  by  death,  it  is  ever  God 

'  Amos  i,  3 ;  ii,  9 ;  Job  xxxiii,  29,  30.  ^ 

*  St.  Hilary  and  St.  Jerome,  explaining  this  passage,  find  in  it  an  allusion 
to  the  words  of  Lamech.  (Gen.  iv,  24.)  According  to  this,  forgiveness 
would  balance  vengeance ;  and  good  would  be  the  perfect  counter- weight  of 
evil. 

[  193  ] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

Who  awakens  man  from  his  torpor  and  demands  from 
him  an  account  of  his  Hfe. 

"And  when  he  had  begun  to  take  the  account,  one  was 
brought  to  him  that  owed  him  ten  thousand  talents."  It 
was  an  enormous  sum,  nearly  ten  millions  of  our  money, 
if  Jesus  spoke  of  the  Hebrew  talent,  or  at  least  six  if  He 
meant  either  the  Egyptian  or  the  Attic  ^  talent.  The 
magnitude  of  the  sum  was  no  doubt  intended  by  the  ]\Ias- 
ter  to  show  us  how  numerous  in  the  eyes  of  God  are  the 
faults  of  human  life.  There  was  no  need  of  a  long  exam- 
ination to  prove  this  enormous  deficit.  A  single  glance 
over  the  records  was  sufficient.  It  was  because  he  per- 
ceived the  awful  position  he  was  in,  that  the  wretched  man 
had  not  come  of  his  own  accord,  but  had  to  be  dragged 
before  the  king.  There  was  no  investigation ;  It  would 
have  added  nothing  to  the  evidence.  The  faithless  servant 
acknowledged  his  squandering  by  the  surprise  he  mani- 
fested at  having  committed  it.  Thus  every  day,  the  sin- 
ner enters  new  crimes  to  his  account  in  the  book  of  life 
which  the  angels  keep  In  heaven,  but  he  Is  only  vaguely 
conscious  of  it,  until  the  hour  Is  come  for  a  serious  reckon- 
ing.    Then  what  surprise !  what  woe !  what  despair ! 

"And  as  he  had  not  wherewith  to  pay  It,  his  lord 
commanded  that  he  should  be  sold,  and  his  wife  and  his 
children,  and  all  that  he  had,  and  payment  to  be  made." 
By  Jewish  law  the  Insolvent  debtor,  with  his  family  and 
his  goods,  became  the  property  of  his  creditor  for  six 
years ;  ^  but  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  Jesus  takes  His 
comparisons  only  from  Jewish  customs.  He  seizes  upon 
whatever  peculiarities  in  the  usages  of  other  peoples  may 
put   His   thought  in  relief;  thus  the  law  of  Israel  per- 

*  The  Hebrew  talent  is  valued  ordinarily  at  about  $973.58 ;  the  Egyptian 
at  about  $537.60 ;  the  Attic  at  about  $480. 

'  Levit.  XXV,  39 ;  IV  Kings  iv,  1 ;  Amos  viii,  6. 

[194] 


BOOK  II]  FORGIVENESS  OF  INJURIES 

mitted  neither  prisons  nor  tortures  for  the  debtor,  and 
yet  these  figures  complete  the  parable.  The  Master  has 
recourse  to  them  the  better  to  demonstrate  that  in  the 
settling  of  his  account  the  sinner,  even  though  he  gives 
all  he  possesses,  is  still  incapable  of  offering  true  satis- 
faction. 

Happily  the  master  was  kind;  a  prayer  could  move 
him  and  repair  what  had  seemed  irreparable.  The  servant 
knew  this,  and,  "falling  down,  besought  him,  saying :  Have 
patience  with  me,  and  I  will  pay  thee  all."  If  he  had  any 
merit  in  not  denying  his  debt,  he  was  wrong  in  deceiving 
himself  with  the  hope  of  being  able  to  pay  some  day. 
This  is  the  ordinary  illusion  of  people  in  debt.  They 
seek  to  gain  time,  but  time  never  betters  their  condition. 
It  is  fortunate  for  sinners  that  God  does  not  exact  a  long- 
continued  interior  work  for  the  reparation  of  their  faults. 
One  good  movement  of  the  heart  suffices.  The  sentiment 
of  bitter  regret  that  suddenly  penetrates  us,  and  casts 
us  at  His  feet,  checks  His  justice  on  the  instant.  Like 
the  master  in  the  parable,  He  has  pity  on  the  poor  debtor ; 
He  not  only  grants  him  time.  He  remits  his  debt.  This 
is  much  more  than  the  unfortunate  man  could  have  dared 
to  ask.  By  falling  on  his  knees,  he  has  aroused  compas- 
sion ;  by  his  cry  for  grace,  he  has  gained  liberty ;  by  prom- 
ising to  satisfy,  he  has  seen  his  whole  deficit  made  good. 
Can  he  ever  forget  such  generosity? 

"But  when  that  servant  was  gone  out,  he  found  one 
of  his  fellow-servants  that  owed  him  an  hundred  pence." 
In  itself  it  was  a  small  amount,  scarcely  sixteen  dollars  in 
United  States  money ;  compared  with  ten  thousand  talents, 
it  was  as  nothing.  Are  the  offences  we  sometimes  refuse  to 
forgive  much  more  when  we  place  them  side  by  side  with 
those  for  which  we  ask  God's  pardon?  They  are  like  a 
drop  of  water  beside  the  ocean.     But  we  forget  that  the 

[195] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

eye  of  Him  Who  has  pardoned  us,  follows  and  observes 
us.  The  servant  of  the  parable,  had  he  thought  that  his 
master  was  to  learn  of  his  conduct,  would,  no  doubt,  have 
been  more  politic. 

"And  laying  hold  of  him,  he  throttled  him,  saying: 
Wilt  thou  pay  what  thou  owest  .'*"  ^  The  recollection  of 
the  mercy  he  had  prayed  for  and  received  shortly  before 
should  have  withheld  him  from  dragging  him  before  the 
judges,  much  more  from  treating  him  with  such  brutality. 
This  is  a  strong  picture  of  the  Christian  who,  still  favoured 
with  divine  indulgence,  wishes,  in  the  name  of  his  wounded 
pride,  to  exact  from  his  brother  the  most  humiliating 
reparation. 

"And  his  fellow-servant,  falling  down,  besought  him, 
saying:  Have  patience  with  me  and  I  will  pay  thee  all. 
And  he  would  not,  but  went  and  cast  him  into  prison,  till 
he  paid  the  debt."  As  if  by  chance,  the  suppliant  had, 
however,  employed  the  same  form  of  prayer  which  had 
recently  saved  his  creditor.  But  the  miscreant  did  not 
even  notice  it.  His  harshness  arouses  our  indignation. 
Alas !  are  we  not  like  him  ourselves  ? 

But,  at  last,  justice  asserts  her  rights  and  pitilessly 
effaces  what  mercy  had  inscribed.  "Now,  his  fellow- 
servants,  seeing  what  was  done,  were  very  much  grieved, 
and  they  came  and  told  their  lord  all  that  was  done."  If 
God  were  not  possessed  of  all  knowledge,  we  might  say 
that  the  angels  and  saints  take  care  to  call  His  attention 
to  such  revolting  crimes.  But  this  detail  of  the  parable 
is  unimportant.  "Then  his  lord  called  him,  and  said  to 
him:  Thou  wicked  servant,  I  forgave  thee  all  thy  debt, 
because  thou  besoughtest  me;  shouldst  not  thou  then  have 
had  compassion  on  thy  fellow-servant,  even  as  I  had  com- 

'  The  best  critics  read  this  as  an  interrogation  or  as  a  conditional :  air6Zoi 
(1  Ti  o<pei\us,  instead  of  or*  o<f>(i\eis. 

[196] 


BOOK  11]  FORGIVENESS  OF  INJURIES 

passion  on  thee?"  This  condescension  touches  us ;  the  king 
makes  a  comparison  where  all  comparison  seems  impossi- 
ble ;  for  he  had  been  kind  who  owed  nothing,  and  the  guilty 
man  has  been  cruel  who  owed  everything  to  the  king.  This 
comparison  explains  what  follows.  The  master  at  once 
summons  the  criminal ;  this  in  itself  is  a  sign  of  anger. 
One  feels  that  severity  is  about  to  take  the  place  of  indul- 
gence. It  is  time  for  inexorable  justice,  and  the  culprit 
is  handed  over  to  the  torturers  ^  until  the  entire  debt  is 
paid. 

It  has  been  rightly  observed  that  since  the  debt  had 
already  been  forgiven,  the  king  could  not  justly  have 
proved  false  to  his  word.  This  is  undeniable,  and  we 
know  that  "God's  gifts  are  without  repentance."  But 
here  we  must  understand  that  the  servant  is  thrown  into 
prison,  not  for  a  debt  already  settled  and  forgotten,  but 
for  the  heartlessness  and  unusual  barbarity  which  he  had 
just  manifested.  However,  it  is  his  forgiven  debt  that 
still  determines  the  degree  of  his  malice  and  his  guilt.  In 
this  way  we  may  solve  the  difficulty  which  the  Scholastics, 
after  St.  Augustine  and  other  Fathers  of  the  Church,^ 
raised  concerning  the  reviviscence  of  remitted  sin.  God, 
summoning  the  wicked  servants  before  Him  by  death,  will 
not  demand  a  new  account  of  sins  pardoned,  but  He  will 
place  His  mercy  and  theirs  with  pitiless  severity  side  by 
side,  and  all  the  sins  that  have  been  covered  by  the  divine 
indulgence  shall  fall  like  an  aggravating  circumstance 
upon  the  scales  of  eternal  justice.     The  unfortunates  shall 

*  The  torturers  here  are  simply  the  jailers  who  guard  their  prisoners  in 
captivity,  or  even  those  men  who,  by  Roman  law,  can  torture  debtors  with 
the  lash  and  with  leaden  shot.     (Cf.  Livy,  ii,  23.) 

•  »St.  Aug.,  De  Bapt.  c.  Donat.,  i,  12;  St.  Greg,  the  Great,  1.  iv.  Dial.  c. 
Ult.,  etc.;  St.  Thom.,  Summa,  3  p.,  q.  88;  Cajetan,  on  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans,  xi,  21,  have  solved  exactly  this  very  difficulty:  "Repetuntur  debita 
semel  donata,  non  ut  fuerant  prius  debita,  sed  ut  mode  eflFecta  sunt  materia 
ingratitudinis." 

[  197  ] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [pabt  second 

be  cast  into  prison  where  they  shall  endure  woes  upon  woes 
in  vain  for  the  payment  of  a  debt  which  in  their  helpless- 
ness they  can  never  pay.  They  shall  pay  forever  and  shall 
never  wipe  out  the  debt.  "So,  also,"  Jesus  adds,  ending 
the  parable,  "shall  my  Heavenly  Father  do  to  you,  if  you 
forgive  not  every  one  his  brother  from  your  hearts." 


[198] 


CHAPTER    XI 

THE   SUMMONS   TO   MANIFEST   HIM- 
SELF  IN   JERUSALEM 

The  Worldly  Arguments  of  Jesus'  Brothers — The 
Motives  That  Inspire  Them — The  Feast  of  Taber- 
nacles IN  Jerusalem — Summons  to  Appear  in  His 
True  Light — The  Views  of  Divine  Wisdom — Jesus' 
Hour — The  Ministry  in  Galilee  Is  Ended.  (St. 
John  vii,  1-10.) 

There  is  a  moment  in  human  undertakings  when  all 
things  seem  to  conspire  in  demanding  from  those  who  con- 
duct them  supreme  and  decisive  resolution.  If  Jesus  had 
been  merely  a  man,  we  might  say  that  for  Him  this  mo- 
ment had  arrived.  Not  only  was  Judea  hostile  to  Him — 
we  know  ^  that  He  refrained  from  appearing  there  again 
lest  He  might  push  too  far  the  homicidal  hatred  of  His 
adversaries — but  even  Galilee  was  at  last  assuming  a  threat- 
ening attitude.  Emissaries  from  Jerusalem  were  actively 
at  work.  Several  of  His  first  followers,  startled  by  His 
declarations  and  deceived  in  their  hopes,  had  publicly  de- 
serted Him,  and  were  seeking  to  separate  from  Him  those 
who  were  still  faithful.  The  Apostles  themselves  were 
passing  through  a  moral  crisis  fraught  with  danger.  It 
was  time  for  a  diversion. 

St.  John  vii,  1. 

[199] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

When  Hannibal  was  encamped  almost  at  the  gates  of 
Rome,  Scipio  deemed  it  necessary  to  hasten  beneath  the 
walls  of  Carthage,  and  by  this  daring  stroke  to  restore 
all  when  all  seemed  lost. 

It  was  in  this  wise,  probably,  that  those  relatives  of 
Jesus  argued,  whose  singular  conduct  at  this  time  is  de- 
scribed for  us  in  the  Fourth  Gospel.  They  found,  on  the 
one  hand,  that  the  situation  was  becoming  critical  for  Him 
in  C'apharnaum,  and,  on  the  other,  that  an  opportunity  for 
appearing  in  Jerusalem  could  neither  be  delayed  nor  be 
better  chosen. 

It  was  near  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles.  This  was  the 
last  great  solemnity  of  the  Jewish  year.  It  was  cele- 
brated with  an  enthusiasm,  a  concourse  of  caravans,  a 
boisterous  excitement,  all  of  which  was  calculated  to  aid 
any  daring  attempt  in  the  way  of  Messianic  manifesta- 
tion. Established  at  first  to  celebrate  the  memory  of 
Israel  wandering  in  the  desert,  it  derived  a  new  meaning 
from  the  particular  circumstances  of  time  and  season. 
On  the  fifteenth  of  Tisrt,  the  end  of  September,  the  vintage 
was  over,  and  with  it  ended  the  series  of  the  principal  har- 
vests of  the  year.^  Thanksgiving  was  then  offered  to 
the  Lord  for  the  fruits  given  to  earth.  And,  afterward, 
the  principal  object  of  the  feast  being  the  commemoration 
of  the  events  in  the  desert,  the  Jews  devoted  themselves  to 
characteristically  symbolical  demonstrations.  They  left 
their  houses,  and,  in  tents  or  huts  of  leafy  branches,  they 
took  up  their  quarters  for  eight  days  on  the  terraces, 
in  public  squares,  and  on  the  ramparts.  In  the  Temple, 
the  morning  libations  commemorated  the  miraculous  water 
that  had  leapt  from  the  rock  beneath  the  rod  of  Moses,  and 
in  the  evening  the  two  candelabra  represented  the  pillar 
of  fire  that  had  guided  the  people  amid  the  sandy  deserts 
'  The  Jewish  year  commenced  on  the  twelfth  of  October. 
[200] 


BOOK  II]  TO   MANIFEST  HIMSELF 

of  Pharan.  Sacrifices  of  thanksgiving  served  as  a  final 
expression  of  the  people's  gratitude.^  The  multitude  was 
the  greater  since  the  season  afforded  leisure  to  every  one, 
and  because,  again,  whoever  had  for  any  reason  been  dis- 
pensed from  appearing  at  the  other  two  feasts  of  the 
Jewish  year,  was  obliged  to  be  present  at  this  one.  One's 
absence  would  have  exposed  him  to  the  severe  criticism  of 
every  true  Israelite. 

Moved  by  these  considerations,  the  brothers  of  Jesus, 
who  were  preparing  to  go  up  to  Jerusalem,  came  to  Him, 
and  said:  "Pass  from  hence  and  go  into  Judea,  that  thy 
disciples  also  may  see  thy  works  which  thou  dost ;  for  there 
is  no  man  that  doth  anything  in  secret,  and  he  liimself 
seeketh  to  be  known  openly.  If  thou  do  these  things, 
manifest  thyself  to  the  world."  A  corner  in  Galilee  is 
not  the  proper  theatre  for  one  who  calls  himself  the  Mes- 
siah. If  He  is  sure  of  His  power  and  of  His  mission, 
why  address  Himself  longer  to  these  poor  people  who  are 
incapable  of  appreciating  Him?  The  place  where  He 
must  manifest  Himself  is  Jerusalem.  There  learned  men 
may  hear  Him  and  judge  of  Him ;  there  the  Temple  is,  the 
House  of  God  and  of  the  people  wherein  the  new  Kingdom 
ought  to  be  inaugurated ;  there  are  proselytes  whose  faith 
is  long  standing,  and  who  deserve  an  authentic  confirma- 
tion of  their  nascent  faith;  there  innumerable  pilgrims 
shall  be  found,  and  to  show  Himself  there  will  be  to  mani- 
fest Himself  to  the  whole  world.  On  the  other  hand,  to 
delay  longer  in  these  obscure  surroundings  will  give  the 
impression  that  He  fears  the  light,  and  that  all  these 
works,  apparently  astonishing,  cannot  bear  a  serious  ex- 
amination. 

'  During  this  festival  there  were  sacrificed  seventy  calves  for  an  expiation, 
it  is  said,  of  the  sins  of  the  seventy  nations  of  the  earth.  This  immolation 
began  with  thirteen  on  the  first  day,  which  number  gradually  decreased  by 
one  each  day.    The  close  brought  the  offering  of  one  bull  and  seven  lambs. 

[201] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [paht  second 

Such  was  the  language  which  the  brothers  of  Jesus 
uttered  naturally  and  unaffectedly  and  which  St.  John  has 
courageously  preserved  for  us.  These  brethren  of  Jesus 
were  Joseph  and  Simon,  with  their  sisters  and  their  broth- 
ers-in-law, but  not  James  and  Jude,  who  belong  to  the 
Apostolic  college.  As  the  Evangelists  say,  they  had  not 
yet  acquired  that  exact  conception  of  their  kinsman  which 
true  believers  ought  to  have.  They  suspected,  of  course, 
that  He  was  an  extraordinary  Being,  for  they  could  not  be 
indifferent  to  what  they  saw  and  heard;  but  a  solemn 
demonstration  of  His  real  character  seemed  to  them  desira- 
ble and  alone  capable  of  putting  an  end  to  all  uncertainty. 

All  these  considerations,  which,  perhaps,  might  have  in- 
fluenced a  mere  man,  failed  to  move  the  Son  of  God.  He 
did  not  fear  the  light,  as  we  shall  see ;  but,  knowing  the 
hour  of  Providence,  He  did  not  intend  to  anticipate  it. 
His  Messianic  work  was  not  finished,  and  He  could  not 
think  of  shortening  its  development.  He  had  scattered,  in- 
deed, strong  germs  of  life  and  of  truth  in  certain  souls  ;  He 
had  brought  together  a  nucleus  of  believers,  greatly  dimin- 
ished of  late,  but  henceforth  constant  and  enduring ;  He 
had  fortified  His  disciples  under  the  blasts  of  persecution ; 
He  had  enlightened  them  as  to  the  future ;  He  had  dispelled 
all  the  illusions  of  their  carnal  hearts ;  but,  were  He  to 
disappear  on  the  morrow,  what  would  be  the  lot  of  this 
young  and  frail  organisation  .f*  A  few  days  more  of  pa- 
tient teaching  will  not  be  too  much  for  the  completion  of 
a  religious  formation  so  vigorously  outlined,  but  so  evi- 
dently incomplete.  Were  He,  on  the  other  hand,  to  follow 
the  caravans  to  Jerusalem,  and  arrive  there  with  noisy 
display,  the  object  of  an  ovation,  would  He  not  provoke 
the  fury  of  the  Pharisees,  give  them  time  to  plot  His  ruin, 
in  a  word  precipitate  on  the  following  day  the  crime  which 
is  not  to  be  consummated  for  six  months   yet  to  come.'' 

[202] 


BooKn]  TO  MANIFEST  HIMSELF 

The  Son  of  Man  must  die  on  the  Feast  of  the  Passover,  not 
during  the  solemnity  of  Tabernacles.  All  this  was  writ- 
ten long  ago.  Jesus  reads  it  in  the  prophecies  and  in  the 
divine  light  that  floods  His  soul.  Besides,  He  has  no  wish 
boisterously  to  be  proclaimed  a  king ;  He  will  have  no  tri- 
umph won  by  surprise,  or,  as  we  would  say  to-day,  by 
political  strategy.  He  will  achieve  His  work  with  patience. 
He  will  go  on  spreading  the  light  here  and  there,  do- 
ing good,  quietly  gaining  over  a  few  souls,  and  then  He 
will  die. 

When  the  time  Is  come,  Jesus  will  be  seen  going  up  to 
Jerusalem,  and  nothing  will  be  able  to  check  Him  in  His 
supreme  resolution.  It  is  not  that  courage  is  wanting  in 
the  Martyr,  nor  generosity  in  the  Victim.  For  the  time 
being  He  calmly  pursues  His  victorious  career  by  ways 
that  men  cannot  understand,  because  they  are  the  ways 
of  God.  This  is  why  He  responds:  "My  time  Is  not  yet 
come;  but  your  time  Is  always  ready."  Their  situations 
are  quite  diflPerent.  He  has  His  mission.  His  fame.  His 
views ;  they  are  actuated  only  by  curiosity,  by  the  desire 
to  satisfy  their  longings,  and  a  readiness  arising  from 
an  absence  of  danger  to  themselves.  He  Is  the  sign  of 
contradiction  destined  to  arise  in  the  midst  of  the  multi- 
tude ;  they  are  unknown  pilgrims ;  He  is  the  voice  that 
accuses  and  is  detested ;  they  are  accepted  allies  or  un- 
noticed non-partisans.  "The  world,"  He  says,  "cannot 
hate  you;  but  Me  It  hateth,  because  I  give  testimony  of 
it,  that  the  works  thereof  are  evil.  Go  you  up  to  this 
festival  day,  but  I  go  not  up  (now)*  to  this  festival  day, 

*  Of  all  the  several  ways  of  interpreting  the  Master's  words  in  a  sense 
exclusive  of  all  shiftiness  or  mental  restriction  not  in  keeping  with  the  sim- 
plicity of  His  character,  this  has  seemed  to  us  the  best.  The  adverb  now, 
which  seems  to  be  inserted  into  the  text,  is  implied  in  the  verb  in  the  present 
indicative.  Many  interpreters  make  Jesus  say :  "  I  go  not  up  to  this  feast  to 
take  part  in  it "  (pour  la  solenniser) ;  because  He  intended  to  arrive  only  at 
the  close  of  the  celebration  and  in  secret. 

[203] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [pakt  second 

because  My  time  is  not  accomplished."  He  does  not  say 
that  He  will  not  appear  there  at  all,  but  simply  that  He 
will  not  go  there  with  His  relatives.  This  is  plain  from 
His  affirmation,  which  is  in  the  present  tense :  "I  go  not  up." 

The  sense  of  these  words  would  have  been  quite  differ- 
ent had  He  employed  the  future  tense.  Besides,  whatever 
was  vague  or  even  obscure  in  His  reply,  as  a  result  of  the 
form  He  used,  was  intentional.  Inasmuch  as  He  did  not 
wish  to  arrive  on  the  first  day  of  the  feast  in  order  not  to 
give  His  enemies  time  to  hatch  a  plot  against  Him,  He 
could  not,  for  this  same  reason,  positively  intimate  that  He 
would  come  before  the  end  of  the  festival. 

His  family,  therefore,  departed,  and  He  remained  in 
Galilee.  His  plan  was,  by  following  them  a  few  days 
later,  to  let  the  impression  spread  that  He  was  not  in  the 
Holy  City,  and  then  arrive  when  He  was  no  longer  looked 
for.  Appearing  unexpectedly  In  the  midst  of  the  religious 
enthusiasm.  He  will  inflict  swift  blows  upon  His  enemies, 
and  will  disappear  before  they  are  able  to  contrive  any 
serious  scheme  against  Him. 

Thus,  according  to  His  wise  foresight.  He  will  arrive 
soon  enough  to  manifest  Himself  to  the  multitude  and  late 
enough  to  escape  the  malice  of  His  enemies. 


[204] 


BOOK  III 

Period  of  Combat  in  Judea 

Section  I 
First  Conflict  on  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles 

CHAPTER    I 

THE  SUDDEN  APPEARANCE  OF  JESUS 
DURING  THE  FESTIVAL 

The  Various  Opinions  of  the  Multitude  with  Regard 
TO  Jesus,  Whom  They  Would  Like  to  See  —  His 
Sudden  Appearance  in  the  Temple — He  Presents 
His  Apology  for  His  Teaching  and  His  Conduct — 
Categorical  Declarations  Regarding  His  Origin — 
The  Higher  Authorities  Cause  Him  to  Be  Watched 
— The  Solemn  Warning  and  Threat  Which  He 
Addressed  to  His  Enemies.      (St.  John  vii,  11-36.) 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  Jesus  turned  His  steps  toward 
Jerusalem  shortly  after  the  departure  of  the  caravans. 
His  journey  was  made  without  commotion.  He  took  with 
Him  perhaps  only  a  few  of  His  disciples,^  not  wishing 
to  be  noticed  on   the  way.      He  went  as   if  in  disguise 

»  St.  John  ix,  2. 
[205] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [pakt  second 

through  the  various  places  He  passed.^  In  the  meantime 
Jerusalem  was  given  up  to  the  joys  of  the  festival.  The 
spectacle  of  the  metropolis  transformed  into  a  camp  of 
fervent  pilgrims,  the  memories  of  the  divine  protection 
in  the  desert — renewed  in  the  ceremonies  of  the  Tem- 
ple— the  glad  canticles,  the  public  processions  in  which 
each  one  carried  sacred  palm-branches,  the  feasts 
themselves  in  which  all  were  united  in  common  aspira- 
tions toward  a  better  future,  all  contributed  to  exalt 
the  mind  and  to  reawaken  the  ancient  hopes  of  the  people 
of  God. 

Jesus'  name  had  naturally  been  heralded  by  those  who 
had  witnessed  His  works  and  heard  His  declarations.  His 
friends  repeated  His  name  with  enthusiasm;  His  enemies 
attacked  it  with  fury ;  strangers  desired  to  know  Him. 
Hence  the  great  excitement  remarked  by  the  Evangelist: 
"The  Jews,^  therefore,  sought  Him  on  the  festival  day 
and  said:  Where  is  He.'*"  He  refers  here  to  the  hostile 
portion  of  the  people  who,  grouped  behind  their  leaders, 
betrayed  by  their  very  impatience  the  perversity  of  their 
intentions.*  As  for  the  pilgrims,  they  were  much  less 
unanimous  in  looking  upon  Jesus  with  an  unfavourable 
eye.  Their  thoughts  of  Him  were  various.  Some  said: 
"He  is  a  good  man."  And  others  said :  "No,  but  He  seduc- 
eth  the  people."  Between  these  two  extremes  there  was  a 
multitude  wavering,  undecided,  not  daring  to  pronounce 

2  St.  John  vii,  10. 

^  It  has  been  observed  with  good  reason  that  St.  John  has  distinguished 
between  the  Jews  and  the  multitude.  For  him  the  Jews  are  the  nation 
which  follows  the  influence  of  its  chiefs  and  is  personified  in  them.  They 
always  act  in  a  spirit  hostile  to  Jesus  (verses  11  and  13,  etc.).  The  multitude, 
or  the  people,  represents  a  whole  made  up  of  individuals  with  different 
sentiments,  malevolent  or  favourable  (verse  12,  etc.).  These  are  people 
from  all  parts,  and  the  Evangelist  distinguishes  them  from  the  inhabitants 
of  Jerusalem  (verse  25). 

*  The  term  used  to  designate  Jesus  Christ,  inuvos,  manifests  the  hostility  of 
those  who  speak. 

[206] 


BOOK  III]      THE  FEAST  OF  TABERNACLES 

either  way,  so  long  as  the  supreme  authority  had  not  yet 
passed  judgment. 

Suddenly,  when  the  festival  was  at  its  height,  the  much- 
discussed  Jesus  appeared  in  the  Temple,  and  began  pub- 
licly to  teach.^  He  surprised  first  of  all  the  Jews,  just 
as  once  before  He  had  astonished  His  compatriots  in  Naza- 
reth, by  the  sublimity  of  His  doctrine.  "How,"  cried 
they  in  amazement,  "doth  this  man  know  the  Sacred  Scrip- 
ture having  never  learned.'"'^  They  knew  the  condition 
of  His  family,  the  occupation  of  His  boyhood  and  youth, 
and  they  could  not  understand  how  He,  never  having  been 
a  disciple,  had  become  a  teacher,  expounding  the  Sacred 
Text  with  the  aid  of  happy  comparisons,  venturing  to 
speak  in  public,  and  achieving  a  great  success.  They 
knew  not  that  there  is  a  Master  Whose  eloquence  is  quite 
different  from  that  of  the  Rabbis  for  the  formation  of 
disciples :  namely,  God  the  Father ;  and  there  is  an  author- 
ised teaching  more  sublime  than  that  of  the  Synagogue: 
namely,  that  of  Heaven.  "My  doctrine,"  answered  Jesus, 
"is  not  mine,  but  His  that  sent  Me.  If  any  man  will  do 
the  will  of  Him,  he  shall  know  the  doctrine  whether  it  be 
of  God,  or  whether  I  speak  of  Myself."  In  fact,  the  true 
way  to  prove  the  divine  origin  of  the  Gospel  is  by  desir- 
ing to  do  what  God  demands  of  us.  This  desire  is  noth- 
ing else  than  the  sincere  love  of  good  in  general,  the 
observance  of  the  moral  law  set  forth  by  conscience  and 
revelation.  To  be  good  through  the  inclination  of  the 
heart  facilitates  the  working  of  the  intelligence;  to  be 
evil,  on  the  contrary,  multiplies  the  mists  that  rise  from 

'  It  was  probably  on  the  Sabbath-day,  falling  within  the  octave  of  the 
feast,  that  He  made  His  sudden  appearance.  The  theme  of  His  discourse 
seems  to  indicate  this.  Excepting  the  first  and  the  last  day,  the  intervening 
Sabbath-day  was  the  most  solemn  of  the  whole  octave. 

°  The  expression  ^eixaBriKeos  must  be  taken  in  an  absolute  sense,  and  it 
demonstrates  once  more  that  Jesus  had  never  frequented  any  school, 

[  207  ] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [paht  second 

the  heart  to  the  mind  and  darken  the  understanding ;  for, 
as  Pascal  has  so  happily  said,  "If  in  order  to  love  human 
things  we  must  know  them,  in  order  to  know  divine  things 
we  must  begin  by  loving  them,  and  we  reach  the  truth 
only  by  the  way  of  charity."  The  Jews,  therefore,  have 
only  to  desire  good — to  do  it  is,  perhaps^  beyond  their 
strength — and  naturally  they  will  seek  the  Gospel  which 
is  the  meeting-place  of  all  men  of  goodwill.  The  honest- 
minded  man  who  is  seeking  his  ideal,  will  find  it  so  com- 
plete in  the  words  of  Jesus,  that  he  will  be  forced  at  once 
to  acknowledge  the  divine  origin  of  these  words.  He 
alone  can  have  created  a  doctrine  so  marvellously  adapted 
to  man's  aspirations,  Who  Himself  created  man's  heart. 
The  happiness,  the  peace,  the  satisfaction  experienced  by 
the  soul  that  practises  the  lessons  of  the  Gospel  furnish 
at  once  the  most  eloquent  demonstration  both  of  the  origin 
of  tliis  same  Gospel  and  of  its  divine  authority. 

In  addition  to  this,  we  can,  according  to  Jesus,  reach 
the  same  demonstration  by  a  more  direct  way:  "He  that 
speaketh  of  himself,  seeketh  his  own  glory,"  says  Jesus ; 
"but  he  that  seeketh  the  glory  of  him  that  sent  him,  he 
is  true,  and  there  is  no  injustice  in  him."  It  is  easy  to 
analy^se  the  teaching  of  the  Gospel.  Does  the  Master 
speak  for  His  own  interest  or  for  the  glory  of  His  Father .'' 
It  is  evidently  for  the  glory  of  His  Father,  it  is  for  Him 
that  He  labours ;  it  is  His  cause  that  He  defends.  There- 
fore He  is  come  for  God;  therefore  He  is  God's  messen- 
ger ;  therefore  His  words  are  the  words  of  Him  Who  sends 
Him,  and  His  work  consists  not  in  deceiving  the  multi- 
tudes, but  in  bringing  them  back  to  God  by  the  fulfilment 
of  duty.  Hence  He  can  protest  against  all  accusations 
of  jealousy,  and  declare  that  His  discourses  are  worthy 
of  faith  and  His  work  free  from  injustice.  He  does  not 
assume  for  Himself  the  honour  that  is  due  to  God. 

[208] 


BOOK  III]      THE  FEAST  OF  TABERNACLES 

It  is  different  with  the  princes  of  the  hierarchical  party, 
who  spend  their  hves  in  seeking  the  consideration  of  the 
multitude  by  flattering  its  evil  passions.^  God's  glory 
is  not  their  chief  thought.  They  wish  above  all  to  glorify 
themselves,  and  for  that  purpose  they  work  iniquity  and 
falsehood.  "Did  not  Moses  give  you  the  law,"  said  Jesus, 
challenging  His  enemies,  "and  yet  none  of  you  keepeth  the 
law.'"'  In  fact,  they  suppress  it  whenever  it  checks  their 
passions.  In  vain  does  it  forbid  homicide  in  any  form, 
for  these  pious  Israelites  are  even  now  preparing  some 
one's  death.  More  than  this,  the  murder  they  are  medi- 
tating will  bear  the  character  of  an  awful  sacrilege ;  for 
Moses  has  not  only  written :  "Thou  shalt  not  kill,"  but  he 
has  also  given  us  the  words  of  Jehovah  announcing  the 
Prophet  of  the  future  Who  is  to  be  the  great  Law-giver  of 
His  people:  "And  he  that  will  not  hear  His  words,  which 
He  shall  speak  in  My  name,  I  will  be  the  avenger."  ^  But 
the  princes  of  the  people  mean  not  only  to  close  the  Heav- 
enly Envoy's  lips,  but  even  to  do  away  with  Himself  by 
assassination.  "Why,"  cries  out  the  Master  energeti- 
cally, "why  seek  you  to  kill  Me?"  Is  that  obedience  to 
the  law  of  Moses  .^  They  know  well  how  to  quote  that 
law  when  they  wish  to  accuse  Jesus  of  having  violated 
the  Sabbath,  and  these  who  now  scorn  its  gravest  pre- 
scriptions will  defend  it  with  energy  when  there  is  ques- 
tion of  secondary  precepts  which  a  reason  of  a  higher 
order  can  always  annul:  "Thou  hast  a  devil;  who  seeketh 
to  kill  Thee?"  exclaimed  some  who  heard  Him,  in  ignorance 
of  the  situation  or  through  hypocrisy.^     Overlooking  this 

'  St.  John  V,  44,  and  xii,  42. 

'  Deut.  xviii,  19. 

°  Certain  exegetes  put  this  interruption  as  coming  from  the  lips  of  Jesus' 
followers,  who  are  unaware  of  the  plot  against  His  life.  It  is  more  probable 
that  it  came  from  the  very  ones  whom  Jesus  was  immasking  and  whose  fury 
knew  no  bounds.  We  shall  soon  see  that  the  designs  of  these  persons  were 
a  .secret  to  no  one  (v.  25) ;  and,  besides,  this  question  is  so  insulting  that  it 

[209] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

insulting  interruption,  Jesus  recalls  the  incident  that  had 
marked  His  last  visit  to  Jerusalem  and  the  serious  threats 
of  which  He  had  been  the  object  because  He  had  cured 
the  paralytic.  "One  work  I  have  done,"  says  Jesus,  "and 
you  all  wonder."  ^^  It  was  modest  to  speak  thus  of  a 
great  miracle  and  to  liken  it  to  servile  work,  careless  of 
the  supernatural  character  which  might  render  it  a  decisive 
argument  in  the  discussion.  But  He  thinks  it  useless  to 
employ  all  His  arms  to  confound  His  adversaries. 

"Therefore  Moses  gave  you  circumcision,"  He  contin- 
ues, "(not  because  it  is  of  Moses,^^  but  of  the  fathers;) 
and  on  the  Sabbath-day  you  circumcise  a  man."  As  the 
law-giver  directed  that  the  child  should  be  circumcised  on 
the  eighth  day  after  birth,  there  was  a  conflict  between 
two  diff'erent  laws  when  this  day  coincided  with  the  Sab- 
bath. But  in  this  case,  no  Jew  hesitated  to  sacrifice  the 
Sabbath  in  favour  of  the  circumcision,  for  the  reason  that 
the  Sabbath  is  for  man  and  not  man  for  the  Sabbath. 
Then  the  Master  concludes :  "If  a  man  receive  circumcision 
on  the  Sabbath-day,  that  the  law  of  Moses  may  not  be 
broken,  are  you  angry  at  Me  because  I  have  healed  the 
whole  man  on  the  Sabbath-day.?"  The  argument  was 
wholly  conclusive,  for  in  circumcision  there  was  a  material 

would  be  out  of  place  on  the  lips  of  Jesus'  followers.  His  enemies  accuse 
Him  of  having  a  devil :  SatiJ.6i'iov  ex^is,  which  is  equivalent  to  being  a  fool. 
(St.  John  X,  20,  and  St.  Matt,  iv,  24.) 

"  The  verb  Bavfid^w  signifies  here  the  mingled  astonishment  and  irrita- 
tion caused  by  a  flagrant  violation  of  the  law.  The  explanation  of  this  is 
seen  in  the  words  that  follow  later:  i/xol  xo^^^f.  "are  you  angry  at  Me  ?" 

"  It  may  be  that  this  parenthesis  is  the  Evangelist's.  However,  it  is  more 
commonly  admitted  that  it  is  Jesus',  and  that  the  Master  is  careful  to  pre- 
vent any  accusation  of  inexactitude  after  the  assertion  concerning  His 
knowledge  made  shortly  before.  He  observes  therefore  that  the  prescrip- 
tion as  to  the  circumcision  of  male  children  is  falsely  attributed  to  Moses. 
It  dates  from  Abraham.  (Gen.  xvii,  10;  xxi,  4.)  Moses,  writing  the  his- 
tory of  the  people  of  God,  notes  its  institution.  That,  no  doubt,  is  why  it 
may  have  been  said  to  come  from  him.  In  reality,  he  simply  mentions  it 
as  a  tradition  to  be  preserved.     (Levit.  xii,  3.) 

[210] 


teooKiii]      THE  FEAST  OF  TABERNACLES 

work,  requiring  preparation  and  special  care,  whereas  in 
the  cure  with  which  they  found  fault,  an  act  of  the  will 
had  sufficed ;  the  transgression  of  the  Sabbath  in  order 
to  circumcise  was  a  very  ordinary  thing,  and  the  same 
for  the  sake  of  healing  a  sick  man  was  merely  an  excep- 
tion. In  the  first  case,  it  was  a  matter  simply  of  the  con- 
secration of  a  man  to  God ;  in  the  second,  Jesus  had  healed 
the  entire  man,  in  soul  as  well  as  in  body;^^  finally,  cir- 
cumcision was  merely  a  ceremony  dating  back  to  Abra- 
ham, while  charity  was  the  natural  law  itself,  inscribed 
by  God  in  the  heart  of  the  first  man  and  of  his  posterity. 
The  hypocritical  malice  of  the  Pharisees  is,  therefore,  evi- 
dent. Jesus  is  content  simply  to  add  in  all  gentleness: 
"Judge  not  according  to  the  appearance,  but  judge  just 
judgment."  This  was  equivalent  to  saying  that  works 
are  to  be  judged  less  with  the  eyes  of  the  body  than  with 
those  of  the  soul.  To  do  otherwise  is,  in  the  study  of  the 
law,  to  accept  the  letter  and  neglect  the  spirit. 

This  sound  logic  silenced  adversaries  who  could  do  noth- 
ing except  through  falsehood,  malevolent  insinuations,  and 
secret  plottings.  Since,  therefore,  no  one  arose  to  con- 
tradict Him,  Jesus  remained  master  of  the  field.  Some, 
however — they  were  people  of  Jerusalem,  better  informed 
of  the  plans  of  the  hierarchical  party  than  the  others — 
were  astonished  that  He  should  be  suffered  to  have  the  final 
word  in  a  public  discussion  and  be  allowed  to  triumph  with 
so  much  honour.  "Is  not  this,"  said  they,  "He  Whom  they 
seek  to  kill.''  And  behold  He  speaketh  openly,  and  they 
say  nothing  to  Him.  Have  the  rulers  known  for  a  truth 
that  this  is  the  Christ.''  But  we  know  this  man  whence 
He  Is :  but  when  the  Christ  cometh,  no  man  knoweth  whence 
He  is."     Although  the  teachers  of  Israel  could  not  ignore 

"The  miraculous  cure  with  which  they  reproach  Jesus,  had  effected  a 
remission  of  sins. 

[  211  ] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [pabt  second 

the  origin  of  the  Messiah,  since  they  clearly  read  in  their 
books  that  He  would  come  forth  from  Bethlehem  and  from 
the  race  of  David,^^  the  people  were  less  enUghtened. 
They  looked  for  a  Messiah  who  would  come  unexpectedly, 
like  a  man  fallen  from  heaven  whose  generation  would  be 
unknown,  and  whose  triumph  would  be  as  swift  as  light- 
ning. These  ideas,  or  better,  these  assumptions  were  born 
of  the  confusion  produced  in  the  minds  of  the  multitude 
by  the  twofold  nature,  human  and  divine,  of  the  Heavenly 
Envoy.  They  were  pleased  to  retain  these  vague  beliefs 
with  their  special  character  of  the  wonderful  and  mysteri- 
ous, instead  of  correcting  them  by  an  attentive  study  of 
the  texts,^*  which  would  restore  the  truth  in  its  own  light. 
It  is  quite  true  that  the  Christ  would  advance  upon  the 
clouds  of  heaven,  that  His  reign  had  begun  in  eternity, 
that  His  generation  was  unspeakable,  but  all  this  was  said 
of  His  divine  nature,  while  the  prophecies  concerning  His 
family.  His  place  of  birth,  His  time,  were  spoken  of  His 
human  nature. 

Ever  ready  to  make  use  even  of  the  difficulties  opposed 
to  Him,  in  order  to  triumph,  Jesus  takes  up  the  objec- 
tion, acknowledges  its  worth,  and  immediately  derives  from 
it  an  argument  to  prove  His  character  as  Messiah.  It 
is  true,  the  origin  of  the  Messiah  must  remain  a  mystery 
to  His  contemporaries,  but  is  not  the  origin  of  Jesus  Him- 
self a  mystery?  "You  both  know  Me,"  He  said,  raising 
His  voice  in  the  Temple  in  order  to  be  heard  by  His  ad- 
versaries,  "and  3^ou  know  whence  I  am,^^  and  therefore 

"  See  St.  John  vii,  42,  and  St.  Matt,  ii,  5,  6. 

"/sa.  liii,  8;  Mich,  v,  2. 

'^  The  text  preserved  by  St.  John  is  so  concise  that  we  feel  obliged  to 
develop  it  in  order  to  render  it  intelligible,  notwithstanding  our  custom  of 
adding  nothing  to  the  words  of  Our  Lord.  The  following  are  the  exact 
words:  "You  know  whence  I  am,  and  I  am  not  come  from  Myself;  but  He 
that  sent  Me  is  true.  Whom  you  know  not.  I  know  Him,  because  I  am  from 
Him  and  He  hath  sent  Me."     The  Evangelist  observes  that  in  pronouncing 

[212] 


BOOK  III]      THE  FEAST  OF  TABERNACLES 

you  refuse  to  recognise  Me  as  the  Messiah.  But  you  know 
naught  of  Me,  but  that  which  concerns  My  human  nature ; 
there  is  another  part  that  escapes  you  and  in  which  I  fulfil 
the  condition  required  of  the  Messiah;  in  this  part  you 
know  not  whence  I  am.  I  am  not  come  of  Myself;  the 
truth  is  that  some  one  has  sent  Me  and  Him  you  know 
not.^®  Cease,  therefore,  denying  Me  this  characteristic 
mark  of  being  unknown  which  the  Messiah  must  bear,  and, 
in  keeping  with  your  own  ideas,  admit  the  legitimacy  of 
My  mission."  There  is  a  yet  more  intimate  and,  so  to 
speak,  more  categorical  mark  of  His  superior  nature : 
namely,  that  although  no  one  knows  that  real  Being  Who 
delegates  the  Messiah,  He  knows  Him,  both  because  He 
shares  in  His  essence,  having  proceeded  as  the  Word  from 
His  bosom,^^  and  because,  as  man.  He  has  been  in  com- 
munion with  Him  in  receiving  His  mission:  "I  know  Him, 
because  I  am  from  Him,  and  He  hath  sent  Me." 

This  response,  so  clear,  so  peremptory^  could  not  but 
have  the  twofold  result  of  exasperating  His  declared  ene- 
mies and  of  arousing  faith  in  undecided  souls.  For  imme- 
diately we  see  the  crowd  separate  into  two  distinct  groups. 
Some  desire  to  lay  hold  on  Jesus  and  close  His  lips  by 
violence ;  others  say  among  themselves :  "When  the  Christ 
Cometh,  shall  He  do  more  miracles  than  these  which  this 
man  doth.''"  The  enthusiasm  of  the  latter  renders  power- 
less the  hatred  of  the  former,  and  they  dare  not  attempt 
what  they  desire ;  because,  as  the  Evangelist  says,  Jesus' 
hour  was  not  yet  come. 

these  words  Jesus  cried  out  fKpa(ev,  and  that  He  was  in  the  Temple,  that 
is,  right  before  the  eyes  of  His  enemies. 

' "  There  is  something  like  harshness  in  telling  the  Jews,  who  regard  them- 
selves as  the  only  adorers  of  the  true  God,  that  they  do  not  know  this  God. 
Jesus  here  considers  God,  as  the  Father,  in  relation  with  His  Son,  ^Tiom 
He  begets  from  all  eternity,  and  Whom  He  sends  in  time.  As  the  God  of 
deism,  the  Jews  know  Him ;  as  the  God  of  the  Trinity,  He  is  altogether  beyond 
them,  since  they  do  not  recognise  the  Son,  Who  has  come  to  them. 

^'  St.  John  i,  2,  18;  vi,  46,  62. 

[213] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

However,  exasperated  by  the  popular  movement  in 
favour  of  the  young  Prophet,  and  unwilling  longer  to 
listen  to  His  praises,  the  Pharisees,  acting  in  concert  with 
the  chief -priests,  obtained  a  squad  of  police  officials  who 
were  to  keep  watch  on  Him  and  seize  Him  at  the  first 
favourable  opportunity,  however  slight.  For  He  might, 
at  any  moment,  furnish  a  chance  for  judicial  action  by  a 
few  seditious  words,  and,  even  in  the  midst  of  His  vehement 
attacks,  compromise  His  popularity,  and  find  Himself 
deserted  by  all. 

Jesus  soon  became  aware  of  this  hostile  surveillance,  and 
was  distressed  by  it.  The  police  ready  to  lay  their  hands 
upon  His  shoulder  and  to  arrest  Him,  the  audacity  of  His 
enemies  in  daring  to  undertake  such  forceful  measures 
against  His  person,  the  isolation  of  which  He  was  still  con- 
scious in  the  midst  of  multitudes,  all  united  in  an  endeavour 
to  disconcert  His  courage.  With  an  accent  of  sadness  capa- 
ble of  recalling  those  honest  hearts  that  still  hesitated.  He 
exclaimed :  "Yet  a  little  while  I  am  with  you,  and  then  I  go 
to  Him  that  sent  Me."  These,  then,  were  the  last  days 
of  divine  mercy.  After  having  seen  the  miracles,  heard 
the  discourses,  received  the  grace  of  the  Saviour,  there  was 
nothing  more  to  do  but  to  hasten  and  join  themselves  to 
Him  by  faith.  A  few  months  more  and  it  will  be  too  late ; 
He  shall  have  been  removed  by  the  enemy.  "Ye  shall  seek 
Me,  and  shall  not  find  Me;  and  where  I  go,  thither  ye 
cannot  come." 

This  threat  was  to  have  a  most  terrible  fulfilment.  For, 
some  time  after  this,  Jesus  was  taken  from  the  midst  of 
His  people,  and  those  who  had  not  believed  in  Him  when 
alive,  have  sought  Him  since  and  seek  Him  still,  but  find 
Him  not.  This  unfortunate  Jewish  people  calls  in  vain 
with  most  touching  supplications  for  the  Deliverer  foretold 
by  the  prophets;  the  Deliverer  comes  not.     Israel,  look- 

[214] 


BOOK  III]       THE  FEAST  OF  TABERNACLES 

ing  to  the  future  for  Him  Who  has  ah'eady  come,  cannot 
meet  Him  on  the  way.  Israel  shall  therefore  die  without 
a  Saviour  in  time  and  without  hope  for  eternity.  They 
alone  enter  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  who  have  joined  them- 
selves by  faith  to  its  true  Founder  and  Chief,  Jesus  of 
Nazareth. 

These  words  of  the  Master  were  beyond  the  understand- 
ing of  His  hearers ;  and  they  began  to  say  ironically : 
"Whither  will  He  go,  that  we  shall  not  find  Him?  Will 
He  go  unto  the  dispersed  ^®  Greeks,  and  teach  the  Gentiles.'' 
What  is  this  saying  that  He  hath  said :  Ye  shall  seek  Me, 
and  shall  not  find  Me ;  and  where  I  am,  ye  cannot  come .'"' 

In  the  eyes  of  the  Jews  what  could  be  more  extravagant 
and  more  ridiculous  than  that  the  Messiah  should  preach 
to  the  Gentiles  and  establish  among  them  the  kingdom 
which  He  could  not  found  in  Israel.''  They  therefore 
laugh  sarcastically  at  the  pretensions  which  their  igno- 
rance attributes  to  Jesus.  Not  comprehending  these  words, 
they  treat  them  with  derision.  But  their  insolent  mockery 
shall  be  none  the  less  the  story  of  the  future.  The  Mes- 
siah, borne  on  the  Apostles'  lips,  shall  soon  go  to  the 
nations  of  the  earth  to  establish  Himself  among  them. 
St.  John,  who  wrote  among  the  Greeks,  took  pleasure  in 
inscribing  in  his  Gospel  these  jests  of  the  Jews,  to  show 
how  God  can,  when  He  will,  without  departing  from  the 
ways  of  His  wisdom,  punish  the  sarcasm  of  the  impious 
by  insuring  its  most  terrible  realisation. 

^*  Some  authors  have  understood  these  words,  t^i/  Staa-jrophv  tS>v  'EW-fiovuv, 
to  mean  the  Jews  Uving  outside  of  Palestine ;  in  this  they  wrongly  rely  on  the 
First  Epistle  of  St.  Peter  i,  1,  and  on  that  of  St.  James  i,  1.  For,  in  that 
sense,  the  Evangelist  would  have  to  use  the  term  "E.\Ki)viffrai.  "EWTj^es  is  here 
put  in  opposition  with  the  Jews,  and  means  the  Greeks  or  the  Gentiles.  We 
should,  therefore,  take  this  as  meaning  the  Greeks  dispersed  throughout  the 
world,  that  is  to  say,  the  nations  that  speak  the  Greek  language,  civilised 
peoples.     (See  Acts  xiv,  1  et  'passim  ;  Rom.  xi,  \Q  et  passim.) 

[215] 


CHAPTER    II 

THE  SOLEMN  DECLARATION  ON  THE 
LAST   DAY   OF   THE   FESTIVAL 

The  Day  That  Came  After  the  Seventh — The  Sol- 
emn Libation — The  Various  Meanings  of  This  Cere- 
mony— Its  Prophetic  Signification — Jesus'  Solemn 
Declaration  :  He  Is  the  True  Source  of  Living 
Water  —  The  Impressions  of  the  Multitude  as 
They  Heard  Him — They  Dare  Not  Lay  Hands  on 
Him  —  The  Conference  of  the  Sanhedrim  After 
THE  Return  of  the  Emissaries — Nicodemus'  Plea. 
(St.  John  vii,  37-52.) 

Ordinarily  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  lasted  only  seven 
days.  The  prescriptions  of  Moses  were  explicit  on  this 
point. ^  But  to  this  sacred  week  was  added,  either  as  a 
commemoration  of  the  entrance  into  the  promised  land, 
or  as  a  conclusion  of  all  the  feasts  of  the  year,  an  eighth 
day  which  Moses  had  directed  to  be  solemnised  without 
clearly  declaring  its  mystical  sense.^  This  additional 
Feast  of  the  Azareth,  which  was  celebrated  by  an  absolute 
rest  and  a  general  reunion  in  the  Temple,  was  so  well 
accepted  as  a  necessary  appendix  to  that  of  the  Taber- 
nacles, that  in  ordinary  conversation  they  were  never  sepa- 

'  Devi,  xvi,  13 ;  Niimb.  xxLx,  12. 

^  Numb,  xxix,  35 ;  Levit.  xxiii,  36 ;  II  Esdras  viii,  18. 

[216] 


BOOK  III]      LAST  DAY  OF  THE   FESTIVAL 

rated,^  and  to  the  solemnity  was  devoted  a  space  of  eight 
days.  The  eighth  day,*  called  by  Philo  the  "most  holy 
conclusion  of  the  year,"  and  by  the  Rabbis  "the  last 
and  good  day,"  is  the  same  that  is  designated  by  St. 
John  as  the  last  and  the  greatest  of  all.  It  was  prob- 
ably one  of  the  days  on  which  the  following  events  oc- 
curred. 

On  each  one  of  these  eight  days,  as  is  said  in  a  passage 
of  the  Talmud,*  a  symbolical  libation  was  poured  out.  As 
there  was  no  spring  of  living  water  within  the  Temple, 
recourse  was  had,  after  the  sacrifice  of  the  morning,  to  the 
fountain  of  Siloe,  which  flowed  at  the  foot  of  the  holy  moun- 
tain. There  a  priest  filled  a  golden  urn  with  fresh,  clear 
water,  and  bore  it  solemnly  into  the  Temple  through  the 
entrance  called  the  Gate  of  the  Waters,  amid  the  peal  of 
trumpets  and  universal  joy.  On  reaching  the  altar  of 
the  holocausts,  he  halted,  and,  at  the  cry  of  the  multitude 
about  him  "Lift  up  thy  hand,"  he  mingled  the  water 
in  the  golden  urn  with  wine  in  a  silver  cup,  and  thus 
poured  out  the  libations,  while  the  public  joy  and  gratitude 
were  proclaimed  in  the  enthusiastic  chanting  of  the  great 
Hallel^ 

These  special  rites,  which  are  not  found  in  the  legisla- 
tion of  Moses,  but  which  the  Rabbis  mention  with  their 

^  Josephus,  Antiq.,  iii,  10 :  'E<^'  fifitpas  okt^  iopriiv  Hyovras,  k.  t.  \.  Then 
he  adds :  "  On  the  eighth  day  they  lay  absolutely  ail  work  aside.  It  is  the 
custom  among  the  Hebrews  to  celebrate  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  in  this 
way."     (//  Mace,  x,  6.) 

*  On  this  hypothesis  Jesus  continued,  on  the  following  days  and  beyond 
the  festival  time,  the  application  which  He  made  of  certain  symbols  used  in 
the  celebration,  as,  for  instance,  the  lighted  candelabra,  to  His  role  as  Messiah. 
If  we  wish  to  accept  the  day  named  by  St.  John  (vii,  37)  as  only  the 
seventh  day,  which  may  be  considered  a  great  day,  although  not  the  most 
solemn,  the  discourse  on  the  light  of  the  world  was  pronounced  on  the 
eighth  day,  the  Feast  of  the  Azareth. 

'In  treatise  Succah,  c.  4,  §  9,  R.  Jehuda  says:  "Libant  unum  logum 
omnibus  octo  diebus  et  libanti  dicunt:  Eleva  manimi  tuam." 

'  Ps.  cxiii,  cxviii. 

[217] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

minutest  details/  had  been  introduced  in  the  times  of  the 
prophets,  or  perhaps  only  after  the  return  from  the  cap- 
tivity, together  with  the  other  innovations  of  the  Pharisees. 
Are  we  to  take  these  libations  of  the  seven  days  to  be  a 
mystical  commemoration  of  the  waters  that  had  refreshed 
the  people  in  the  desert,  and  those  of  the  eighth  day  to 
be  a  thanksgiving  for  the  springs  in  which  the  promised 
land  abounded?  Or  was  this  mingling  of  wine  with  water 
nothing  else  than  a  solemn  thanksgiving  for  the  rains  and 
harvests  of  the  year  ?  ^  The  branches  laden  with  fruit 
which  were  borne  in  procession  would  seem  to  favour  this 
latter  explanation.  But  we  must  look  higher  for  the  real 
sense  of  these  pious  symbols.  The  Rabbis  themselves  tell 
us  that  in  them  there  was  more  thought  of  the  future  than 
of  the  past,  and  in  their  opinion  all  these  ceremonies  were 
less  a  thanksgiving  than  a  prayer.  In  fact,  on  this  occa- 
sion the  people  chanted  with  a  lively  faith  the  prophecy 
of  Isaias :  "Thou  shalt  draw  waters  in  the  fountains  of 
the  Saviour."  The  Messianic  times  had  always  appeared 
to  them  under  the  emblem  of  vivifying  waters  that  were 
to  flow  over  the  earth.  Like  flowing  waters  that  come  to 
the  thirsty,  or  like  rivers  that  spread  over  dry  lands,  so 
the  spirit  of  God  would  come  upon  the  race  of  Jacob.^ 
According  to  Joel  ^^  waters  would  run  in  the  rivers  of 
Juda,  and  an  abundant  spring  would  leap  from  the  house 
of  the  Lord  to  water  the  torrent  of  Thorns.  Finally 
Zacharias  ^^  supposed  that  the  heavenly  flood  would  cover 
the  entire  world  with  the  most  wholesome  fertility. 

^  See  Wetstein  on  this  passage ;  also  Lightfoot. 

'  Philo,  De  Septen.  et  Festis  Extra.,  says:  "To  these  seven  days  an  eighth 
is  added,  the  name  of  which  declares  it  to  be,  as  it  were,  a  corollary  not  only 
of  this  festival,  as  is  easily  seen,  but  also  of  all  the  feasts  of  the  year.  For 
this  solemnity  of  the  eighth  day  is  the  last  of  the  year,  and  is  a  sort  of  ending, 
a  fixed  and  specially  consecrated  limit,  ffv^iiripafffxa  aytdnepov."  The  land 
had  then  borne  all  its  fruits,  and  each  one,  having  gathered  his  crops,  blessed 
the  hand  of  the  Creator.        ^  Isa.x\iv,3.        '"^eZiii,  18.        ^^  Zach.xiy,8. 

[218] 


BOOK  III]      LAST  DAY  OF  THE  FESTIVAL 

But  now  the  time  was  come  when  all  these  figures  were 
near  to  their  realisation.  In  response  to  the  solemn  sup- 
plication of  Israel,  which  had  gone  forth  resounding  on 
the  precedings  days,  and  still  re-echoed  in  the  sacred  enclo- 
sure, Jesus,  standing  in  the  midst  of  the  multitude,  pro- 
claimed :  "If  any  man  thirst  let  him  come  to  Me  and  drink. 
He  that  beHeveth  in  Me,  as  the  Scripture  saith,^^  out  of 
his  belly  shall  flow  rivers  of  living  water."  ^^  For  is  not 
Christ  the  rock  that  gives  drink  to  the  people  dying  of 
thirst  in  the  desert  ?  This  new  figure  of  the  flowing  foun- 
tain is  realised  in  Him,  as  are  those  of  the  brazen  serpent, 
the  pillar  of  light,  the  manna,  and  the  Paschal  lamb. 
Whoever  is  tortured  with  the  thirst  of  anxiety,  of  doubt, 

^^  It  is  a  question  to  what  part  of  the  Scriptures  Jesus  here  alludes.  No- 
where, in  the  texts  in  our  possession,  has  it  been  possible  to  discover  this 
quotation  with  all  the  ideas  it  evokes.  Some  have  thought  that  it  was  part 
of  a  sacred  book  no  longer  in  existence.     Others,  with  St.  Chrysostom, 

Eunctuate  the  passage  differently,  and  translate  it :  "If  any  man  thirst,  let 
im  come  to  Me,  and  drink.  lie  tliat  beheveth  in  Me,  in  keeping  with  the 
Scriptures,"  etc.  More  recently  some  have  thought  of  dividing  the  passage 
so  as  to  make  the  first  two  words  of  verse  38  of  St.  John  \u  ihe  subject  of 
vivirw  in  verse  37,  and  translate  it  with  an  inversion:  "Let  him  drink,  he 
that  believeth  in  Me";  thus  KoiKias  outoS  might  refer  to  Jesus.  But  since 
the  Saviour  had  already  applied  to  His  body  tlie  idea  of  a  temple,  in  speak- 
ing thus  He  might  have  had  in  view  Joel  iv,  18 ;  Zach.  xiv,  8 ;  Ezech.  xlvii, 
1-12.  The  majority,  in  despair  of  finding  the  different  figures  united  in  one 
single  text,  prefer  to  accept  tliis  quotation  as  an  allusion  either  to  several 
passages  in  Scripture  or  to  only  one  of  the  following,  which  recall  the  idea 
of  going  to  drink  at  a  spring,  or  even  that  of  becoming  a  spring  one's  self. 
These  are  in  Isa.  Iv,  1:  "All  you  that  thirst  come  to  the  waters";  and  that 
cited  above,  xliv,  3;  and  again  Iviii,  11:  "Thou  shalt  be  like  a  watered 
garden,  and  like  a  foimtain  of  water,  whose  waters  shall  not  fail."  Like- 
wise the  text  from  Joel  cited  above,  and  the  detailed  description  by 
Ezechiel  (xlvii,  1-12).  However,  the  picture  of  the  just  man  becoming  a 
fountain  can  scarcely  be  drawn  with  justice  except  from  tlie  following 
passages:  "Thy  law  is  in  the  midst  of  my  heart"  (Ps.  xxxix,  9);  "Son  of 
man,  thy  belly  shall  eat,  and  thy  bowels  shall  be  filled  with  this  book  which 
I  give  thee  "  (Ezech.  iii,  3). 

"*This  figure  is  not  unknown  to  the  Rabbis.  Tanchuma,  fol.  44,  1,  says: 
" Unde  Abraham  didicit  legem?  R.  Simeon  filius  Jochai  dLxit:  Bini  renes 
ipsius  tanquam  binse  lagense  aquarum  factae  sunt  ex  quibus  lex  promanavit." 
And  in  Sohar  Chadasch,  fol.  44,  4,  is  found:  "Quando  homo  se  convertit 
ad  Dominum  tanquam  fons  vi\'is  aquis  impletur,  et  fluenta  ejus  egrediuntur 
ad  omnis  generis  homines  et  ad  omnes  tribus." 

[219] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

of  sin,  has  only  to  drink  of  the  Hving  waters  that  the 
Saviour  holds  out  to  him.  He  shall  at  once  be  satiated, 
and  even  flooded  beyond  his  need;  so  much  so,  that  from 
him  shall  flow  streams  capable  of  satiating  yet  other  souls. 
For  he  who  has  seized  upon  Jesus  Christ  by  faith,  and 
has  brought  Him  into  his  heart,  at  once  becomes  His 
Apostle,  and  propagates  His  name,  His  doctrine.  His 
grace.  The  disciples  will  be  a  living  proof  of  this  later 
on.  It  was  to  this,  according  to  the  Evangelist,  that  Jesus 
alluded  here.  "Now,"  adds  St.  John,  "this  He  said  of  the 
Spirit  which  they  would  receive  who  beheved  in  Him,  for 
as  yet  the  Spirit  was  not  given,  because  Jesus  was  not  yet 
glorified."  1* 

This  discourse  of  Jesus,  of  which  the  Evangelist  gives  us 

"  It  is  not  difBcult  to  grasp  the  connection  of  ideas  by  which  the  Evangelist 
perceives  in  the  figure  employed  by  Jesus  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Water,  in  Scripture,  is  an  emblem  of  moral  regeneration,  absolution,  and 
salvation.  Isaias  goes  so  far  as  to  establish  a  complete  parallelism  between 
water  and  the  Spirit.  According  to  him  God  annoimces  the  effusion  of  the 
Spirit,  in  promising,  as  a  figure,  the  effusion  of  the  water.  (Isa.  xliv,  3.) 
St.  John's  explanation  of  Jesus'  thought  and  allusion  was,  therefore,  wholly 
in  Isaias.  But  how  can  the  Evangelist  say  that  the  Spirit  was  not  yet  ?  This 
strange  assertion,  which  seems  to  have  troubled  the  copyists — some  having 
added,  others  having  omitted,  certain  words  in  the  text  in  order  to  soften  its 
crudeness — presents,  however,  no  serious  difficulty  to  Christian  theology. 
The  Holy  Spirit  with  the  Word  and  the  Father  has  His  being  from  all 
eternity  in  an  unchanging  Trinity  of  di\ane  Persons.  StiU,  as  far  as  man  is 
concerned,  the  activity  of  these  Persons  may  be  said  to  manifest  itself  in 
successive  phases.  Thus,  as  the  Word  has  not  ceased  to  act  in  the  world 
as  its  light  and  its  beauty,  so,  too,  the  Spirit  has  at  all  times  strengthened  the 
souls  of  the  just.  It  was  He  WTiom  David  received  into  his  heart  (/  Kings 
xvi,  13),  and  Whom  he  begged  God  not  to  take  from  him  {Ps.  H).  It 
is  He  Whom  Israel  has  always  possessed  {Isa.  Ixiii,  2),  and  of  Whom  it 
has  been  proud  as  its  most  glorious  prerogative.  It  is  He,  in  fine,  according 
to  the  Apostles'  teachings  {Acts  xxviii,  25;  II  Peter  i,  21),  Who,  with  His 
breath,  inspired  the  prophets  of  the  Old  Testament.  But,  as  the  Word  was 
pleased  to  fulfil  in  the  Incarnation  the  great  manifestation  of  His  Personahty, 
which  was  to  overshadow  all  His  various  manifestations  in  other  creatures, 
so  the  Spirit  reserved  until  Pentecost  an  effusion  sufficiently  universal  and 

fowerful  to  eclipse  all  His  individual  or  secret  communications  in  past  times, 
n  this  sense  God  had  said  by  the  prophet  {Isa.  Ixv,  17):  "Behold  I  create 
a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth ;  the  former  things  shall  not  be  in  remembrance 
and  they  shall  not  come  upon  the  heart."    But  the  Holy  Ghost  can  come 

[220  ] 


BOOK  III]      LAST  DAY  OF  THE  FESTIVAL 

here  only  a  general  idea/*''  agitated  the  multitude  and  di- 
vided it  into  two  well-defined  factions,  friends  and  enemies. 
Of  the  first,  some  said :  "This  is  the  prophet  indeed" ;  and 
by  this  they  meant  some  one  of  those  valiant  defenders  of 
the  rights  of  God  under  the  Old  Law,  who  was  to  come 
back  to  earth  to  glorify  Him  during  the  days  of  the  Mes- 
siah. Others,  more  enthusiastic  and  farther  advanced 
toward  faith,  exclaimed:  "This  is  the  Christ!"  As  for 
His  enemies,  they  sought  for  objections — and  malevolence 
can  always  find  them — "Doth  the  Christ  come  out  of 
Galilee?  Doth  not  the  Scripture  say  that  Christ  cometh 
out  of  the  seed  of  David,  and  from  Bethlehem,  the  town 
where  David  was?"  Elsewhere  we  have  seen  how  these 
prophetical  indications  had  had  their  complete  fulfilment 
at  the  birth  of  Jesus.  The  multitude,  only  vaguely  ac- 
quainted with  the  past  of  Him  Whom  they  pretended  to 
judge,  were  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  the  enrolment  had 
been  precisely  the  occasion  of  His  being  born  at  Bethlehem. 
Seeing  Him  come  forth  out  of  Galilee,  they  deemed  them- 
selves right  in  denying,  according  to  the  prophecy  of 
Micheas,^^  the  Messianic  character  of  His  origin.  In 
reality,  in  order  to  avoid  all  error  in  the  interpretation 
of  this  prophecy,  its  precise  meaning  should  have  been  de- 

with  the  abundance  of  His  gifts  only  into  souls  purified  from  all  stain ;  the 
Old  Testament  taught  this  {Ps.  li;  Jeremias  xxxi,  21;  Isa.  lix,  2),  and  this 
is  why  His  outpouring  cannot  take  place  until  after  the  glorification  of 
Jesus  Christ,  that  is,  after  the  complete  restoration  of  mankind.  This 
restoration,  inaugurated  in  the  expiation  on  Calvary,  was  completed  in  the 
final  triumph  of  Ascension  Day.  That  is  the  reason  why  in  His  words  and 
in  His  actions  Jesus  has  always  made  the  coming  of  the^Holy  Ghost  sub- 
sequent to  the  consummation  of  His  work.  (St.  John  xvi,  7  et  passim,  20, 
22 ;  Aets  ii,  33.)  The  Spirit  shall  be,  shall  reign  in  the  world  when  the  Son 
shall  have  been  glorified. 

^^  The  plural  twv  K6ywv  roiruv,  which  is  found  in  the  best  manuscripts,  in- 
dicates a  development  of  the  discourse  which,  indeed,  is  supposed  on  accoimt 
of  the  agitation  of  the  people.  One  or  two  phrases  would  not  have  sufficed 
to  draw  from  the  multitude  the  professions  of  faith  that  follow.  St.  John 
simply  gives  the  general  idea  which  the  Master  had  taken  pains  to  develop. 

1"  Mich.  V.  1. 

[221] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [p.^t  second 

termined  by  another  prediction  from  Isalas  ^^  indicating 
Galilee  as  the  point  where  the  great  manifestation  of  the 
Messiah  should  begin.  But  the  prejudice  that  moves 
them  to  seek  for  objections  in  Scripture,  also  prevents  them 
from  finding  there  the  texts  that  should  solve  them.  These 
difficulties,  to  which  the  Evangelist  pays  no  attention,  since 
he  judges  them  to  be  of  too  little  value,  appeared  to  be 
decisive  for  many  among  the  Jews.  They  provoked  vio- 
lent disputes  and  accentuated  the  divisions  among  those 
present. 

It  was  because  of  this  growing  agitation  that  the 
thought  of  arresting  Jesus  recurred.  But  from  the  idea 
to  the  execution  was  yet  a  far  cry.  Whether  it  was  that 
God  directly  protected  His  Son,  or  that  the  enthusiasm 
of  His  friends  seemed  a  serious  danger  to  His  enemies  and 
made  them  circumspect,  no  one  ventured  to  lay  hands  on 
the  Master  in  order  to  take  possession  of  His  august  per- 
son. More  than  this,  the  officers  of  the  police  departed 
filled  with  admiration  for  Him  Whom  they  had  closely 
followed,  and  deeply  moved  by  the  discourses  they  had 
heard. 

When  the  chief -priests  and  Pharisees  saw  them  return- 
ing alone,  they  exclaimed  in  anger:  "Why  have  you  not 
brought  Him?"  But  they  could  only  avoAV  the  surprise 
and  the  respect  with  which  His  powerful  words  had  inspired 
them:  "Never  did  man  speak  like  this  man,"  said  they. 
This  reply  not  only  wounded  the  pride  of  the  Sanhedrim, 
it  also  proved  their  injustice.  According  to  the  very 
avowal  of  these  officers,  that  is  to  say,  of  servants 
ever  ready  to  flatter  their  masters,  not  one  of  the  doctors 
of  the  Synagogue  approached  the  authority  of  Jesus.  The 
young  Prophet  displayed  an  eloquence  with  which  no  other 
was  comparable.     The  officers  declared  so  sincerely,   and 

"  Isa.  ix,  1. 
[  222  ] 


BOOK  in]      LAST  DAY  OF  THE  FESTIVAL 

the  chief-priests  were  vexed  thereby.  "Are  you  also  se- 
duced?" they  exclaimed  in  their  anger.  "Hath  any  one 
of  the  rulers  or  of  the  Pharisees  believed  in  Him  ?  But  this 
multitude  that  knoweth  not  the  law,  are  accursed."  We 
can  easily  discern  in  these  words,  together  with  their  sense- 
less arrogance,  the  Pharisaical  sect  which  Jesus  has  so 
often  stigmatised,  but  never  converted.  Their  nature  is 
here  plainly  evidenced.  Exaggerated  esteem  of  self,  con- 
tempt of  others,  presumption,  sophistry,  brutality ;  noth- 
ing is  lacking.  There  is  also  something  ridiculous  about 
it,  for  these  men  who  so  proudly  talk  of  their  collective 
and  unanimous  resistance  to  Jesus'  teaching,  seem  to 
ignore  the  fact  that  Jesus  counts  at  least  one  follower 
among  them.  They  pretend  that  the  ignorant  only  can 
be  seduced,  and  yet  Nicodemus,  doctor  of  Israel,  as  Jesus 
once  had  named  him,  was  long  ago  won  over  to  the  ideas 
of  the  Prophet  of  Nazareth.  Must  he,  too,  be  likened 
to  the  vile  populace.''  Is  he  not  a  member  of  the  Grand 
Council.''  Moreover,  without  entirely  ridding  himself  of 
that  timidity  which  we  have  seen  in  him,  but  with  an 
affected  and  somewhat  malicious  indifference,  Nicodemus 
at  once  arises  to  take  Jesus'  part.  In  the  name  of  the 
law,  which  they  boast  that  they  know  so  well,  and  which 
nevertheless  they  observe  so  little,  he  demands  a  more  com- 
plete investigation  of  the  case.  "Doth  our  law  judge  any 
man,"  he  says,  "unless  it  first  hear  him,  and  know  what 
he  doeth.?" 

Pretending  to  be  free  from  all  partisanship,  Nicodemus 
simply  stood  as  one  without  bias  among  these  passionate 
judges.  But  the  very  fact  that  he  does  not  share  the 
fanaticism  of  these  furious  men  is  sufficient  to  declare  him 
their  enemy ;  by  not  sharing  in  their  moral  exaltation,  he 
draws  upon  himself  their  anger  and  their  insults. 

It  was  not  in  vain  that  he  would  have  recalled  these 
[223  ] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

pretentious  legalists  to  an  observance  of  the  elements  of 
justice.  "Art  thou  also  a  Galilean?"  they  said  to  him 
eagerly;  "search  out  the  Scripture,  and  see  that  out  of 
Galilee  a  prophet  riseth  not."  This  was  not  logic,  it  was 
invective.  For  not  joining  in  their  unjust  wrath,  Nico- 
demus  beheld  himself  insulted;  they  asked  if  he  was  a 
Galilean,  and  this  fine  argument  ended  with  the  asser- 
tion that  inasmuch  as  Galilee  had  never  hitherto  had  any 
prophet,  it  was  incredible  that  it  should  begin  by  pro- 
ducing one  now.  The  legitimacy  of  the  antecedent  clause 
might  be  contested,  for  it  is  probable  that  several  of  the 
prophets  had  been  Galileans,^®  but,  in  any  case,  the  con- 
clusion was  absurd,  as  the  past  was  not  necessarily  to  be 
the  rule  of  the  future.  Such  is  the  sophistry  by  which 
passion  leads  human  reason  from  truth  to  error. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  all  knew  that  the  Messiah  did  not 
confine  His  action  to  Galilee.  The  centre  of  the  religious 
life  of  Judaism  was  in  Jerusalem,  and  there,  according  to 
Scripture  and  reason,  should  occur  the  final  and  decisive 
manifestation.  But  to  deny  that  the  Messiah  could  begin 
His  labours  in  Galilee  was  to  misunderstand  the  celebrated 
oracle  of  Isaias,  which  described  the  first  light  of  the 
Gospel  as  coming  forth  from  the  green  mountains  of  that 
province.  Finally,  to  be  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  Jesus 
was  really  born  in  Judea  denoted  that  they  had  neglected 
to  seek  the  truth  concerning  His  origin.  In  the  presence 
of  such  partisanship  and  ignorance,  discussion  was  super- 
fluous  and  impossible.      It  does  not  appear  that  it  was 

'^  There  are,  in  fact,  three  prophets  who  are  thought  by  many  to  be  natives 
of  Galilee.  As  regards  Jonas,  who  was  of  Gathepher  (IV  Kings  xiv,  25), 
this  is  certain.  As  for  Nahmn,  it  must  be  ascertained  whether  he  is  really 
of  the  village  of  Elkoschi,  as  St.  Jerome  supposes,  or  of  the  race  of  Koschi, 
as  the  Rabbis  teach,  and  whether  or  not  Koschi  is  really  the  name  of  a 
Galilean  village,  as  St.  Jerome  alone  asserts.  As  for  Osee,  it  is  still  more 
doubtful.  Elias,  according  to  the  testimony  found  in  77 J  Kings  xvii,  1, 
and  in  Tobias  i,  2,  was  of  Galaad,  and  not  a  Galilean. 

[  224  ] 


BOOK  III]      LAST  DAY  OF  THE  FESTIVAL 

further  prolonged.  The  Evangelist  merely  says  that 
every  man  returned  to  his  own  house,  the  few  followers 
of  Jesus  congratulating  themselves  perhaps  on  their  timid 
courage,  and  His  enemies  stirring  themselves  up  to  a  plan 
of  action  to  be  better  prepared  and  more  energetically 
carried  out. 


[225] 


CHAPTER    III 

THE    WOMAN    TAKEN   IN   ADULTERY 

The  Phakisees  Ask  that  Jesus  Act  as  Judge  in  the 
Case  of  a  Woman  Taken  in  Adultery — The  Two- 
fold Danger  Which  They  Seek  to  Create — Jesus 
Remains  Silent  and  Writes  Upon  the  Ground — 
What  He  Wrote  —  The  Words  He  Addresses  to 
THE  Accusers  Transfer  the  Question  from  Jurid- 
ical TO  Moral  Grounds  —  He  Sustains  the  Law, 
BUT  Suppresses  the  Accusers — The  Sinner  Is  For- 
given.    (St.  John  vii,  53-vIii,  11.) 

Jesus,  Who  had  turned  away  in  the  direction  of  the 
Mount  of  OHves,  to  pass  the  night  there  beneath  some 
leafy  shelter,  in  the  midst  of  His  pilgrim  friends,  reap- 
peared the  next  morning  at  daybreak  in  the  Temple.  The 
multitude  again  surrounded  Him  with  evident  eagerness. 
Seating  Himself,  He  was  beginning  to  instruct  them,  when 
a  most  unexpected  incident  furnished  His  enemies  with 
an  opportunity  of  setting  a  snare  to  entrap  Him.  In 
the  midst  of  those  boisterous  celebrations  (which  Plutarch 
calls  the  bacchanalia  of  the  Jews),  among  the  foreigners 
who  had  come  from  all  parts  to  share  in  this  unusual  life 
of  freedom  and  of  joy  that  was  often  worldly,  an  unfortu- 
nate woman  fell  disgracefully.  Taken  in  the  very  act  of 
adultery,  she  was  brought  before  Jesus  with  the  emotion 
of   her   guilt   fresh   upon   her   and    covered   with    shame. 

[226] 


BOOK  III]     WOMAN  TAKEN  IN  ADULTERY 

Certain  Pharisees  and  Scribes  had  assumed  charge  of  the 
affair.  Their  manner  of  procedure  leads  us  to  beHeve 
that  they  were  of  the  famous  sect  of  Zealots. 

They  dragged  the  criminal  into  the  midst  of  the  assem- 
bly, saying:  "Master,  this  woman  was  even  now  taken  in 
adultery.  Now,  Moses  in  the  law  commanded  us  to  stone  ^ 
such  an  one.  But  what  sayest  Thou.'"'  Thus,  notwith- 
standing their  irritation  against  Jesus,  they  made  Him 
judge.  In  reality,  this  was  the  more  surely  to  destroy 
Him,  for  according  to  His  response  they  hoped  to  be 
able  to  compromise  Him  and  to  arouse  against  Him  uni- 
versal indignation.  Hatred,  as  it  approaches  its  object, 
frequently  fawns  and  flatters  in  order  the  better  to  wreak 
its  vengeance.  We  know  that  the  Pharisees  had  often 
tried  to  set  Jesus  in  opposition  to  Moses.  Thoroughly 
confounded  by  His  application  of  the  law  of  the  Sab- 
bath, they  eagerly  seized  the  opportunity  of  trying 
Him  on  another  delicate  point,  the  important  question 
of  adultery. 

They  supposed  that,  with  His  daring  views,  the  new 
Reformer  would  maintain  the  theories  of  indulgence  and 
mercy  even  for  such  a  crime  as  this.  Was  He  not  the 
avowed  friend  of  publicans  and  sinners.''      And  if,  now, 

'  In  Levit.  xx,  10,  and  Deut.  xxii,  22,  an  adulteress  is  simply  con- 
demned to  death;  and  it  seems,  according  to  the  Talmud,  that  when  the 
manner  of  death  is  not  specified,  strangulation  is  understood.  (Mischna, 
Tract.  Sanhedrin,  fol.  5,  2.)  Therefore,  there  would  be  here  an  ignorance 
of  the  law  or  of  Jewish  customs  which  would  contribute  to  make  doubtful 
the  genuineness  of  this  fragment,  which  is  considered  spm-ious  even  from 
other  points  of  view.  But  would  not  this  be  giving  too  great  authority  to 
the  Mischna,  especially  when  we  see  in  Ezech.  xvi,  38^0,  that  adulterers 
were  to  be  stoned  ?  Even  Moses,  when  not  fixing  the  penalty  of  stoning  to 
death  for  certain  crimes,  does  not  exclude  it.  (See,  e.  g.,  on  the  violation  of 
the  Sabbath:  E.vod.  xxxi,  14;  xxx,  11;  compare  with  Numb,  xv,  32,  35.) 
In  addition  to  these  reasons,  which  appear  to  be  decisive  in  disproving  a 
very  general  text  of  the  Mischna,  we  can  always  suppose  that  the  adulteress 
accused  before  Jesus  was  not  a  wife,  but  a  faithless  affianced  woman,  and 
in  that  case,  according  to  Moses  himself  (Deut.  xxii,  23-24),  she  should 
positively  be  stoned. 

[  227  ] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [partsecjond 

His  tolerance  should  go  so  far,  it  would  be  easy  to  un- 
mask His  ideas,  as  being  subversive  of  morality  as  well 
as  of  religion,  and  to  rouse  public  opinion  against  Him. 
If,  what  seemed  impossible.  He  were  to  take  His  stand  by 
the  side  of  the  law,  if  He  were  to  pronounce  the  applica- 
tion of  the  penalty  decreed  by  Moses,  He  would  deny  His 
whole  past,  renounce  His  beautiful  maxims  concerning 
clemency,  break  with  all  the  unfortunates  who  were  flat- 
tering themselves  that  they  had  a  place  in  His  Kingdom, 
and,  above  all,  render  Himself  responsible  before  the  San- 
hedrim and  the  authority  of  Rome,  for  the  consequences 
of  a  sentence  of  death.  For  they  were  ready  to  inflict 
at  once  the  penalty  decreed  by  Moses  should  Jesus  declare 
her  worthy  of  it.  Following  the  example  of  Phineas,^ 
whose  spirit  they  sought  to  revive,  the  Zealots,  in  their 
indignation  against  crime,  anticipated  the  judges'  regular 
sentence,  and  proudly  arrogated  to  themselves  the  right 
of  executing  the  guilty. 

Jesus  had  come  on  earth  to  apply  not  the  law  of  men, 
but  only  the  law  of  God.  Instead  of  replying  to  their 
question,  He  simply  bent  down  and  with  His  finger  wrote 
upon  the  ground.'  Was  it  His  intention  thus  to  signify 
His  contempt  for  those  who  came  to  tempt  Him,  and 
His  firm  resolution  to  make  no  reply?  The  philosopher 
of  whom  ^Elianus  *  speaks,  had  done  this ;  instead  of  solv- 
ing the  difficulty  proposed  to  him,  he  had  turned  round 
and  written  on  the  wall.  This,  too,  the  Jewish  ^  Rabbis 
sometimes  did  when  they  were  unwilling  to  pronounce  judg- 

'  Numb.  XXV,  6,  etc. 

^  In  Jer.  xvii,  13,  God  writes  on  the  earth  the  names  of  those  who 
abandon  Him.  There  is  no  reason  for  preserving  them,  since  they  them- 
selves must  perish.  The  men  who  pass  by,  the  storms  that  rage,  are  charged 
with  their  obliteration.  They  who  have  renounced  their  wish  to  be  inscribed 
in  the  Book  of  Eternity,  have  their  place  only  in  the  miserable  Book  of  Time. 

*  Hist.  Var.,  xiv,  19. 

^  Schoettgen,  Hor.  Heb.,  ad  h.  1. 

[  228  ] 


BOOK  III]     WOMAN  TAKEN  IN  ADULTERY 

ment  in  delicate  matters.  The  persistence  of  the  Pharisees 
in  seeking  a  reply  from  Jesus,  leads  us  to  believe  that  they 
had  interpreted  His  action  in  this  way.  In  that  case,  the 
incoherent  signs  that  the  Master  was  writing  expressed 
nothing  else  than  His  clear  resolution  not  to  speak.  How- 
ever, it  is  more  probable  that,  since  Jesus  made  the  motion 
of  writing.  He  had  really  written. 

The  harsh,  proud  attitude  of  the  accusers  had  stirred 
up  His  indignation,  and  He  determined  to  make  their 
hypocrisy  manifest.  According  to  the  Roman  law,  be- 
fore every  judgment  the  act  of  accusation  had  to  be  pre- 
sented to  the  judge  together  with  the  names  of  the  accus- 
ers. This  had  not  been  done  in  the  present  instance;  but 
it  was  in  all  likelihood  the  formality  that  Jesus  wished  to 
observe  when  He  bent  down  to  write  the  first  time.  The 
same  legislation  ^  exacted  besides  that  the  citizen  who  con- 
stituted himself  accuser  before  the  judge,  should  him- 
self be  at  least  less  guilty  than  the  accused;  otherwise  he 
ran  the  risk  of  being  charged  in  turn  and  even  judged 
first  of  all. 

Jesus,  having  probably  begun  by  making  the  legal  list 
of  the  accusers,  afterward  attentively  observes  it.  They 
think  He  is  hesitating,  and  press  Him  to  speak.  Then 
rising  up.  He  exclaims :  "He  that  is  without  sin  among  you, 
let  him  first  cast  a  stone  at  her."  Jewish  law  authorised 
that  the  accuser  or  the  witness  should  be  forced  to  act 
as  executioner.  This  requirement  in  the  present  case  was 
very  much  like  an  accusation.  But  the  wicked  are  clever 
in  assuming  a  brazen  front  to  pretend  that  the  accusa- 
tions of  honest  men  do  not  reach  them.  The  Pharisees 
stood  impassive.     Then  Jesus  stooped  down  to  write  again. 

'Heineccii,  Antiq.  Juris  Rom.,  lib.  iv,  tit.  18,  §17-20.  Cicero  (7n.  Ver- 
rum,  3,  at  the  beginning)  alludes  to  it:  "Vis  corruptorem  aliquem  vel  adul- 
terum  accusare?  Providenduni  diligenter  ne  in  tua  vita  vestigium  libidinis 
appareat,"  etc. 

[229] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

According  to  some  manuscripts,  He  added  to  the  name  of 
each  accuser  a  list  of  his  faultsJ  The  ground  became  as 
if  on  fire,  and  the  trial  was  unendurable.  A  public  dis- 
closure of  the  most  secret  sins,  under  such  conditions,  was 
a  punishment  no  man  would  bear.  The  first  of  all  those 
who  had  accused  the  wretched  woman — they  were  the  an- 
cients of  the  people — seeing  themselves  inscribed  at  the 
head  of  the  list,  unmasked,  and  justly  qualified  according 
to  their  personal  vices,  disappeared  one  by  one.  The 
others  had  no  further  desire  to  prolong  the  experience, 
and,  without  delay,  all  withdrew  in  succession  from  the 
oldest  to  the  youngest,  the  former  in  shame  for  what  had 
been  written,  the  latter  in  fear  of  what  would  be  written. 

Thus  Jesus  had  preserved  the  law  of  Moses  with  its 
divine  authority,  and  had  succeeded  in  saving  the  accused 
woman.  He  had  judged  it  enough  merely  to  deny  the 
competence  of  her  judges  and  the  worth  of  witnesses  as 
guilty  as  herself. 

With  admirable  skill  He  had  transferred  the  question 
from  juridical  grounds,  where  the  Pharisees  had  placed 
it,  and  where,  since  He  was  not  an  official  judge.  He  did 
not  wish  to  treat  it,  to  the  moral  grounds  on  which  He 
could  so  easily  humiliate  and  discourage  the  accusers. 
When  one  judges  in  the  name  of  law  and  of  the  office  it 
confers,  one  need  not  be  a  saint  in  order  to  attack  the 
vice  that  is  accused  by  public  honesty.  But  when  one 
constitutes  himself  judge,  he  must,  at  least,  be  morally 
superior  to  the  man  he  judges.  Here,  neither  in  the  name 
of  the  law  nor  in  the  name  of  their  personal  virtue  had 
the  Pharisees  any  right  to  pose  as  accusers,  much  less  as 
authorised  judges. 

Through  the  medium  of  this  shameful  flight  of  the 
enemy   whom  a  word  written  on  the  ground  had  hurled 

^  The  manuscript  TJ  and  others  have  kvhs  eKaarov  avrwy  ras  a/xaprlas, 

[  230  ] 


BOOK  III]     WOMAN  TAKEN   IN  ADULTERY 

back  in  confusion  into  the  darkness,  the  multitude  was 
enabled  to  contemplate  the  most  sublime,  the  most  touch- 
ing, the  most  God-like  spectacle.  Jesus  was  alone  with 
the  adulteress:  He  towering  in  all  His  moral  majesty, 
beautiful  in  His  sanctity,  radiant  in  His  mercy;  she, 
shamed,  impure,  trembling;  both  victims  escaped  from 
the  malice  of  men,  and  remained  finally  victors  of  the 
field.  Jesus  was  the  triumphant  and  glorious  Saviour; 
the  woman  was  the  sheep  wounded  and  defiled  by  the  teeth 
of  savage  beasts.  Would  her  new  Master  enclose  her 
within  the  fold  or  cast  her  out  amid  the  oifal.?  Her  brow 
covered  with  shame,  her  eyes  cast  down,  her  hands  crossed 
in  an  attitude  of  despair,  the  wretched  woman  awaited  her 
sentence. 

Jesus,  Who  was  ever  kind  as  well  as  wise,  regarded  her 
with  compassion,  and,  seeing  that  everybody  had  disap- 
peared. He  said:  "Woman,  where  are  they  that  accused 
thee.?  Hath  no  man  condemned  thee.?"  She  replied:  "No 
man.  Lord."  And  Jesus  said:  "Neither  will  I  condemn 
thee.  Go,  and  now  sin  no  more."  Thus  He  Who  alone 
could  possibly  be  found  with  the  conditions  required  to 
strike  the  guilty  in  the  name  of  morality,  refuses  to  do 
it.^  This  is  because,  although  in  His  sanctity  He  has 
a  horror  of  sin,  in  His  goodness  He  still  has  love  for  the 
sinner.  He  does  not  crush  the  culprit  in  His  anger.  He 
mercifully  gives  her  time  to  reform.  Instead  of  saying 
as  He  did  to  Magdalen :  "Go  in  peace,"  He  utters  simply 
the  word  "Go !"  to  show,  no  doubt,  the  distance  that 
separates  these  two  women,  one  of  whom  had  come  of  her 
own  accord,  moved  by  repentance,  the  other  led  forcibly 
by  the  judges ;  the  former  full  of  faith  and  love,  the 
latter  simply  humiliated  and  confused.  To  IMagdalen  He 
granted  perfect  justification.     To  the  adulteress  He  gives 

*  This  is  understood  from  the  "neither  will  I  "  {ovSe  iyd>),  on  Jesus'  lips. 

[  231  ] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

time  and  means  to  acquire  it  by  a  moral  penance,  which 
is  the  most  useful,  the  sweetest,  and  most  severe  of  all 
since  it  creates  the  moral  obligation  of  sinning  no  more. 
The  grandeur  of  this  whole  scene  proves  the  authenticity 
of  the  narrative.^ 

•  It  is  true  that  several  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Church,  and  some  of  the  most 
ancient,  have  said  nothing  of  this  beautiful  passage ;  such  are,  for  example, 
Origen,  TertuUian,  St.  Cyprian,  Apollinaris,  St.  Chrysostom,  and  others.  The 
reason  of  this  is  that  it  was  not  in  the  Gospel  of  their  time.  In  fact,  a  great 
number  of  manuscripts  do  not  contain  it :  e.  g.,  the  manuscripts  K  ABLTXA 
(from  the  fourth  to  the  ninth  century),  and  sixty  others.  Thirty  evangelistaries, 
Italic,  Sahidic,  Coptic,  Syriac,  do  not  contain  it.  It  must  be  acknowledged  that 
the  Orientals  had  suppressed  it  at  an  early  date,  and  they  did  so  with  suffi- 
cient daring  to  cause  it  to  be  marked  with  a  sign  of  doubt  in  several  manu- 
scripts which  have  retained  it  (EM2An).  Others  place  it  at  the  end  of  the 
Gospel  of  St.  John,  as  an  Apostohcal  fragment  intentionally  detached,  the 
proper  place  for  which  seems  uncertain.  One  or  two  add  it  to  chapter  xvi 
of  St.  Luke;  but  they  probably  transferred  it  to  the  text,  taking  it  from  a 
marginal  note  put  tliere  for  some  purpose  of  concordance.  Finally  the 
numerous  variants  found  in  every  hne  show  that  this  passage  has  only  with 
great  difficulty  withstood  the  terrible  opposition  early  declared  against  it. 
It  may  have  been  a  dogmatic  prejudice  that  moved  certain  sectaries  in  the 
second  centm-y  to  suppress  this  sublime  fragment  in  which  God's  mercy 
might  seem  to  be  exaggerated.  The  Montanists  especially,  who  introduced 
an  awful  rigorism,  might  have  been  scandalised  and  embarrassed  by  such 
an  instance  of  Christian  clemency.  And,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  environ- 
ment amid  which  this  sect  took  its  rise  and  developed,  in  Phrygia,  to  wit;  the 
epoch  during  which  it  was  powerful,  the  better  part,  namely,  of  the  second 
centm-y;  the  daring  of  its  chiefs,  who  apphed  the  shears  of  their  interested 
criticism  to  the  Holy  Books  themselves — all  this  was  easily  in  harmony  with 
tlie  act  of  violence  which  a  great  number  of  Oriental  manuscripts  seem  to 
have  suffered  at  this  same  date,  and  which  the  copies  in  the  West  and  in 
Constantinople  alone  escaped.  It  is  true  that,  to  be  logical,  the  Montanists 
or  Catapluygians  should  have  suppressed  other  passages,  too;  that  of  the 
prodigal  son,  of  the  sinful  woman  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  etc. ;  but  error  is  not 
always  sufficiently  consistent  or  sufficiently  daring  to  follow  out  all  its  prem- 
ises. It  is  even  doubtful  whether  it  may  not  be  said  that  in  any  of  these  in- 
stances of  di\ane  mercy,  the  duty  of  judging  only  for  the  sake  of  forgiving  is 
as  clearly  set  forth  as  in  the  story  of  the  adulteress. 

Besides  this  hypothesis,  which  makes  a  sect  responsible  for  the  suppression 
of  this  passage,  many  have  thought  that  from  the  beginning  the  Churches,  in 
obedience  to  an  inspiration  of  excessive  prudence,  had  deemed  it  preferable, 
in  the  midst  of  perverted  popidations,  not  to  lay  this  story  commonly  before 
the  multitude,  smce  it  might  seem  rather  an  encouragement  to  disorder  than 
a  subject  of  moral  edification.  This  is  the  explanation  given  by  St.  Augustine 
(Con.  Faustum,  22,  25 ;  de  Adtdt.,  conj.  2,  6,  7)  and  by  St.  Ambrose  (Apol. 
Davidis  Securida).  But  in  admitting  this  supposition,  it  must  still  be  asked 
how  it  happened  that  this  suppression  took  place  in  nearly  all  the  manu- 

[232] 


BOOK  III]     WOMAN  TAKEN   IN   ADULTERY 

scripts  of  the  East  and  in  scarcely  one  of  tlie  West.  It  has  been  said  that 
although  the  dissolute  morals  of  Asia  and  Africa  were  in  danger  of  being 
justified,  pardon  being  thus  easily  obtained,  the  West,  which  in  general  wa:5 
governed  by  a  more  severe  ecclesiastical  discipline,  would  find  in  such  a 
spectacle  of  divine  goodness  a  consolation  and  not  a  danger.  Perhaps  we 
should  add  that  the  Church  of  Rome,  whose  glory  it  has  ever  been  to  maintain 
the  truth  untrammelled,  even  amid  circumstances  the  most  embarrassing 
and  apparently  the  most  dangerous  for  her,  has  always  refrained  from  bending 
to  the  mean  desires  of  certain  too-easily-offended  minds.  She  has  ever  kept 
in  view  the  entire  Catholic  world,  and  not  a  group  of  men  or  of  peoples; 
and  as  a  faithful  depositary,  she  has  preserved  the  Gospel  just  as  the  Apostles 
preached  it  for  all  tunes  and  for  all  men,  without  suppressing  the  least  detail 
thereof. 

However  that  may  be,  the  first  citation  of  tliis  admirable  fragment  which 
has  been  found  is  in  the  Apostolic  Comtitutions  (i,  2,  24).  Even  though 
the  final  compilation  of  this  oook  was  the  work  of  an  Oriental  bishop  of  the 
latter  part  of  the  third  century  (which  is  far  from  being  demonstrated),  it 
would  be  none  the  less  probable  that  its  author  borrowed  the  greater  part 
of  the  documents  from  the  Western  Church.  The  story  of  the  adulteress  in 
particular  must  have  come  to  him  from  the  evangelistaries  of  Rome,  if  we 
suppose  that  it  was  not,  at  that  epoch,  in  tlie  Oriental  manuscripts,  and  we 
reach  the  conclusion  that  from  the  remotest  antiquity  the  West  has  been 
acquainted  with  this  passage.  Moreover,  there  is  confirmation  of  this  view 
on  every  side.  The  manuscripts  D,  F,  G,  H,  K,U,  and  three  hundred  others, 
from  the  sixth  century  to  the  ninth,  as  well  as  the  Italic  version,  the  Vulgate, 
and  the  Latin  version  of  the  Concordance  of  Tatian,  contain  these  eleven  verses. 
St.  Jerome  (Adv.  Pelag.,  2,  6)  notices  their  presence  in  a  great  number  of 
Greek  and  Latin  manuscripts  of  his  time.  We  do  not  care  to  cite  in  proof 
of  our  thesis  the  authority  of  Papias,  whose  testimony  Eusebius  has  recorded 
in  his  history  {Hist.  Eccles.,  iu,  40).  The  woman  accused  of  many  sins, 
of  whom  he  speaks :  4irl  iroKeus  apuaprlais  StafiK7]6ei<rris  yvvaiKSs,  and  who  is 
mentioned  in  the  Gospel  of  the  Hebrews,  was  no  doubt  the  sinful  woman  who 
has  been  identified  with  Magdalen.  Altogether  there  are  enough  complete 
texts  to  prove  their  inte^ity  against  the  uncertainty  of  some  and  the  silence 
of  others.  Here,  again,  if  it  is  true  that  one  citation  has  more  authority  than 
a  hundred  omissions,  the  majority  of  manuscripts  ought  to  prevail  against 
the  minority,  however  respectable. 

The  scruples  of  philological  criticism,  too,  may  well  vanish  before  the 
authority  of  so  many  manuscripts.  We  need  not  be  startled  by  the  frequent 
repetition  of  the  conjunctive  particle  5e,  for  the  numerous  variants,  which 
must  be  admitted,  suffice  to  suppress  many  of  them,  and  chapters  v,  35 
et  seq.,  x,  2  e<  seq.,  xi  et  seq.,  plainly  justify  the  others.  We  may  seek, 
in  vain,  here,  for  expressions  or  phrases  more  familiar  in  St.  Luke  than  in 
St.  Johii.  Ordinarily,  such  comparisons  are  arbitrary,  and  no  one  can  sin- 
cerely deny  that  this  whole  passage  is  in  the  style  of  the  fourth  Evangelist. 
Those  short  reflections,  found  scattered  here  and  there  (v.  6  and  9),  are  surely 
of  a  piece  with  those  which  St.  John  delights  to  employ  by  way  of  com- 
pleting the  reader's  impressions.  His  laconic  and  natural  simplicity  is  seen 
m  the  whole  dialogue  (v.  10  and  11).  Finally  the  phrasing,  which  is  always 
equally  calm,  preserves  also  its  ordinary  negligence  in  the  repetition  of  the 
same  words  (vii,  53,  and  viii,  1).    There  is  nothing  unlikely  in  this  story, 

[233] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

and  an  intelligent  exposition  of  the  details  suffices  to  do  away  with  all  diffi- 
culties. Besides,  the  incident  by  itself  takes  its  place  naturally  in  this 
chapter.  St.  John  wishes  again  to  place  in  evidence  the  keen  and  implacable 
hatred  of  the  Pharisees,  and  the  power  of  the  look  with  which  Jesus  read  their 
consciences.  This  whole  picture  has  in  it  a  something  so  pm-e,  so  inimitable, 
so  grand,  that  all  the  doubts  of  critics  vanish  before  the  profound  admiration 
wiui  which  it  inspires  the  Christian  soul.  Its  very  beauty  is  the  complete 
and  irresistible  demonstration  of  its  authenticity.  This  several  modern 
Protestants  have  finally  recognised,  and  loyally  declared. 


[234] 


CHAPTER    IV 
JESUS,    THE    LIGHT   OF    THE   WORLD 

The  Illuminations  of  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  and 
Their  Symbolism — The  True  Light  of  Mankind  Is 
Jesus — Objection  Raised  by  This  Solemn  Assertion 
— Reply:  Though  Jesus  Should  Alone  Give  Testi- 
mony OF  Himself,  They  Must  Believe  Him  ;  but  the 
Father  Gives  Testimony  with  Him — "Where  Is  Thy 
Father?" — He  Must  Be  Sought  in  the  Son — This 
Took  Place  in  the  Court  of  the  Treasury  and 
Within  Hearing  of  the  Sanhedrim.  (St.  John  viii, 
12-20.) 

The  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  with  Its  manifold  rites,  not 
only  commemorated,  as  we  have  already  seen,  the  miracu- 
lous fountains  that  sprang  from  the  rock  during  the  pil- 
grimage in  the  desert,  but  two  immense  candelabra,  which 
were  lighted  every  evening  in  the  women's  court  after  the 
sun  had  set,  and  whose  bright  light  flooded  the  whole  Tem- 
ple, represented  in  the  eyes  of  all  the  luminous  cloud  which 
had  guided  the  people  of  God  in  their  journey.  Indi- 
viduals themselves  took  pleasure  in  illuminating  their 
houses  and  in  thanking  Jehovah  for  His  protection  in  the 
past,  while  they  prayed  for  the  coming  of  the  Messianic 
light  of  the  future.^       The  ceremony  was  prolonged  far 

1  Zach.  xiv,  7,  16. 

[235] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

into  the  night,  and,  according  to  all  appearances,"  was 
continued  regularly  up  to  the  eighth  day.  Jesus,  having 
returned  to  the  Temple,  was  in  the  very  enclosure  ^  where 
these  gigantic  candelabra  which  had  been  used  in  this  sym- 
bolical illumination  were  still  standing.  Quite  naturally 
He  drew  from  them  the  subject  of  His  discourse,  as  He  had 
borrowed  that  of  the  day  before  from  the  mystic  ablutions 
that  were  being  practised.  Thus  He,  in  His  turn,  will 
celebrate  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  by  proving  that  He 
Himself  is  the  living  realisation  of  its  figurative  rites. 

"I  am  the  light  of  the  world,"  He  said;  "he  that  fol- 
loweth  Me  walketh  not  in  darkness,  but  shall  have  the 
light  of  life."  Symbols  are  but  a  fugitive  image  of  the 
past,  or  an  impotent  aspiration  toward  the  future;  after 
a  momentary  enthusiasm  they  leave  souls  in  the  profound- 
est  discouragement.  This  is  why  in  the  midst  of  the  sad- 
ness that  follows  a  festival  day,  before  these  extinguished 
candelabra,  this  vanished  light,  Jesus  exclaims  that  He, 
Himself,  is  the  true,  unfailing  light,  not  only  of  the  Tem- 
ple and  of  the  Holy  City,  but  of  the  whole  world.  This 
was  attributing  to  Himself  one  of  the  prerogatives  of  the 
Messiah.  For,  according  to  the  prophets,  this  latter  was 
to  rise  like  the  "Sun  of  justice"  ^  for  the  friends  of  God; 
or,  again,  like  a  great  light  for  the  people  who  walked  in 
darkness.  In  Isaias  God  had  said  to  Him:  "It  is  a  small 
thing  that  Thou  shouldst  be  My  servant,  to  raise  up  the 
tribes  of  Jacob  and  to  convert  the  dregs  of  Israel ;  behold, 
I  have  given  Thee  to  be  the  Light  of  the  Gentiles,  that 
Thou  mayest  be  My  Salvation  even  to  the  farthest  part 

'  The  Talmud  speaks  of  it  only  for  the  first  night  of  the  festival.  Ac- 
cording to  Maimonides,  it  took  place  each  evening  until  the  eighth  day. 

'  Tlus  is  the  conclusion  drawn  from  v.  20,  where  it  is  expressly  stated  that 
Jesus  was  then  in  the  treasury  {yaCo<pvKdKiov),  which  was  in  the  women's 
vestibule. 

*  Malach.  iv,  2. 

[236] 


BOOK  III]     JESUS,   LIGHT  OF  THE   WORLD, 

of  the  earth."  ^  Light,  Hfe,  and  salvation  are  identical 
in  Scripture,  as  are  darkness,  death,  and  perdition.  Jesus, 
the  Light  of  mankind,  is,  thereby,  also.  Life  and  Saviour. 
He  rises  in  the  night  of  error  over  the  wandering  world. 
His  words  and  works  make  the  light  to  shine.  This  light 
clears  the  way  for  mind  and  heart,  warms  those  whom 
death  had  chilled,  and  saves  that  which  was  lost.  Even 
while  following  the  pillar  of  light,  the  Hebrews  might 
have  been  dwelling  in  the  night  of  the  soul;  and  those 
who,  at  the  sound  of  instruments  and  pious  canticles,  gave 
themselves  up  yesterday  to  their  sacred  dance  around  the 
mysterious  candelabra,  were,  perhaps,  carrying  in  their 
hearts  the  dense  darkness  that  begets  passions,  a  thou- 
sand criminal  desires,  and  the  confusion  of  thoughts  com- 
mon to  sinners.  But  he  who  follows  Jesus  Inevitably  has 
the  light  of  life,  which  Jesus  diffuses,  causing  it  to  pene- 
trate with  far-reaching  results  Into  the  profoundest  depths 
of  the  soul.  Beneath  the  rays  of  eternal  truth  the  soul 
sees  what  is  good,  the  heart  desires  it,  and  the  will  attains  it. 
This  fresh  assertion  of  His  Messianic  mission,  no  less 
categorical  than  the  first,  at  once  gives  rise  among  the 
Pharisees  to  an  objection  which  Is  very  specious  for  souls 
still  hesitating  and  unconvinced.  "Thou  givest  testimony 
of  Thyself;  Thy  testimony  Is  not  true,"  they  say.  Why 
should  It  not  be  true  or  legitimate?  Because  It  stands 
alone,  Isolated,  personal,  and  without  the  confirmation  of 
another.''  Who,  then,  is  there  on  earth  qualified  to  sus- 
tain it-f*  A  witness  Is  called  and  heard  to  some  purpose 
only  when  he  himself  has  seen  and  justly  appreciated  the 
facts  which  his  deposition  must  estabhsh.  But  in  the  pres- 
ent Instance  man  Is  absolutely  Ignorant  of  the  transcend- 
ent questions  relating  to  the  nature,  origin,  and  mission 
of  the  Messiah.  Consequently  his  testimony  would  add 
'  Isa.  xlix,  6 ;  compare  this  with  xUi,  6, 

[237] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [paht  second 

nothing  more  to  Jesus'  assertion:  He  who  has  just  said: 
"I  am  the  Hght !"  places  Himself  in  a  superior  sphere  where 
He  can  invoke  only  the  testimony  of  the  light,  and  that 
light  is  Himself  or  God.®  "Although  I  give  testimony  of 
Myself,  My  testimony  is  true ;  for  I  know  whence  I  came 
and  whither  I  go ;  but  you  know  not  whence  I  came  or 
whither  I  go.  You  judge  according  to  the  flesh;  I  judge 
not  any  man  in  that  manner."  '^  They  belong  to  diflPerent 
worlds.  It  is  not  for  them  who  live  in  an  inferior  and 
wholly  human  sphere,  to  judge  the  mysteries  of  the  divine 
life.  He  Who  dwells  In  heavenly  light,  can  tell  what  He 
has  seen  there.  His  knowledge  is  without  illusion  and  He 
manifests  it  without  reserve.  The  sanctity  of  His  life 
proves  It.  Unjustly,  then,  do  they  refuse  His  testimony 
on  the  ground  that  it  has  no  outside  and  authoritative 
confirmation. 

But  it  is  not  really  true  that  this  testimony  has  no  such 
confirmation ;  for  the  only  guarantee  of  His  words  that 
He  can  invoke,  namely,  God  the  Father,  He  has  completely 
in  His  favour.  "And  if  I  do  judge,"  adds  Jesus,  "My 
judgment  is  true,  because  I  am  not  alone,  but  I  and  the 
Father  that  sent  INIe.     And  in  your  law  ®  it  Is  written  that 

'  St.  Augustine  {Trad,  in  Joan.,  xxxv,  4-6)  sets  forth  this  argument 
very  strikingly:  "Lumen  et  aha  demonstrat  et  seipsum;  testimonium  sibi 
perhibet  lux,  aperit  sanos  oculos,  et  sibi  ipsa  testis  est  ut  cognoscatur  lux. 
.  .  .  Ergo  verum  est  testimonium  liuninis,  sive  se  ostendit,  sive  alia;  quia 
sine  lumine  non  potes  videre  quodlibet  aliud  cjuod  non  est  lumen." 

'  Great  efforts  nave  been  made  to  explain  this  passage,  iyd)  oh  Kpivw  ovSeva. 
We  have  only  to  accept  it  as  it  is,  joining  thereto  the  ellipsis  "in  that 
manner, "  which  the  text  allows. 

'  In  saying  "your  law,"  lie  is  far  from  intending  to  free  His  disciples  at 
once  from  the  prescriptions  of  Moses;  He  had  explained  Himself  on  that 
point.  (St.  Matt,  v,  17.)  His  intention  is  to  show  that  He  accepts  the 
discussion  on  the  ground  chosen  by  the  Pharisees,  the  law,  that  law  ^hose 
text  they  have  ever  ready  on  their  lips,  and  which  is  their  most  decisive 
argmnent.  Such  is  the  particular  intention  of  the  word  your.  It  is  equally 
true  that  Jesus  could  not  say  our  law,  without  seeming  to  abdicate  His 
superior  nature  at  the  very  moment  when  He  asserts  it.  His  relations  with 
the  law  of  Moses  were  not  like  those  of  the  Jews.     This  law  was  His  law, 

[238] 


BooKiii]     JESUS,   LIGHT  OF  THE   WORLD 

the  testimony  of  two  men  Is  true.  I  am  one  that  give 
testimony  of  Myself,  and  the  Father  that  sent  Me  giveth 
testimony  of  Me."  Here,  then,  is  all  that  is  required  to 
silence  His  adversaries.  They  exact  two  testimonies  con- 
cerning His  Messianic  mission ;  He  presents  them  cate- 
gorically. According  to  the  terms  of  the  law,  His  case 
is  won.  For  He  Himself  gives  testimony  of  Himself,  by 
His  superhuman  virtues,  His  holiness,  His  charity.  His 
wisdom,  and  the  Father  is  there  as  guarantee  of  what  the 
Son  attests  by  the  miraculous  works  He  gives  Him  to  do. 
He  might  have  added,  as  He  will  do  later  on,  that  ere  long 
a  third  witness,  the  Holy  Spirit,  shall  come  to  depose  in 
His  favour.  What  more  is  needed,  since  there  shall  thus 
be  three  witnesses  in  heaven,  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  to  affirm  the  legitimacy  of  a  mission  that  is 
contested  by  the  impiety  of  the  Pharisees?  And  as  an 
echo  of  this  divine  testimony,  there  shall  also  be  on  earth 
three  forces  that  shall  speak:  the  Christian  spirit,  the 
blood  of  martyrs,  and  the  waters  of  regeneration. 

Jesus  spoke  with  a  religious  enthusiasm  which  His  ene- 
mies took  for  the  exaltation  of  a  mystic.  They  thought 
that  should  they  excite  Him  still  more  by  a  new  question, 
they  might  draw  from  Him  the  decisive  word  that  would 
compromise  Him.  The  craftiness  of  the  wicked  scorns  no 
means  of  triumph,  and  more  than  once  has  It  slain  its 
adversaries  with  flattery.  The  Pharisees  were  not  igno- 
rant of  Whom  Jesus  spoke  when  He  mentioned  His  Father. 
Frequently  enough  had  they  heard  Him  explain  this  deli- 
cate point,  and,  when  they  invite  Him  to  return  to  It,  they 
do  so  because  they  hope  to  catch  Him  sinning  In  speech 
and    so   make   Him   responsible    for   a   decisive   outbreak. 

in  so  much  as  He  had  dictated  it  to  Moses ;  it  was  the  Jews'  law  in  so  much 
as  they  were  subject  to  it.  Thus  also  He  said  my  Father  or  ymir  Father, 
but  not  our  Father,  because  He  is  not  the  Son  of  God  in  the  same  con- 
ditions as  we  are.     The  first  interpretation  is,  perhaps,  the  most  natural. 

[239] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [paht  second 

Since  He  spoke  of  this  Father  as  a  Witness,  He  had  only 
to  produce  Him  and  let  Him  be  heard. 

"Where  is  Thy  Father?"  they  asked  Him  suddenly. 
Jesus  divined  their  thought,  and,  unmoved.  He  formulated 
His  reply  in  language  so  transcendent  that,  although  He 
spoke  the  truth.  He  left  the  people  no  opportunity  to 
grasp  His  words  and  to  be  scandahsed  thereby.  His 
words  passed  over  the  heads  of  the  multitude  and  reached 
to  His  enemies,  without  involving  Him  in  the  immediate 
danger  in  which  they  had  sought  to  entrap  Him.  "Neither 
Me  do  you  know  nor  My  Father,"  He  said;  "if  you  did 
know  Me,  perhaps,  you  would  know  My  F'ather  also." 
The  meaning  of  this  reply  is  that  they  must  seek  the 
Father,  God,  not  in  Himself,  but  in  the  Son  Whom  they 
have  before  them — ^not  with  the  eyes  of  the  body,  but  with 
those  of  the  soul.  They  shall  have  no  other  manifestation 
of  the  heavenly  Witness  but  tliis. 

Thus  He  clearly  maintains  His  relation  in  nature  to 
the  Father,  His  divine  and  eternal  Sonship,  in  a  word  His 
divinity.  According  to  the  whole  depth  of  His  thought, 
the  Father  and  He  are  only  one  by  nature ;  they  are  bound 
one  to  the  other  by  an  essential  relation  so  intimate  that 
the  idea  of  one  involves  the  idea  of  the  other.  Not  to  know 
Jesus  as  the  eternal  Son  of  God  is  not  to  know  God  as 
the  Father,  and,  therefore,  not  to  have  either  the  true  idea 
of  the  Messiah,  or  the  Christian  idea  of  God.  More  than 
this :  in  God,  the  Son  not  only  evokes  the  idea  of  paternity. 
He  reproduces,  as  the  Word,  the  perfect  image  of  the 
Father,  and  remains  indissolubly  united  to  Him,  making 
only  one  with  Him.  They  alone,  therefore,  can  ask  where 
the  Father  is  and  how  He  is,  who  have  refused  to  recognise 
the  Son.  This  is  the  case  with  the  Pharisees  and  with  all 
the  enemies  of  Jesus.  Shutting  their  eyes  before  the  liv- 
ing image  of  the  Father,  they  ask  to  see  Him;  obstinate 

[240] 


BOOK  hi]      JESUS,  LIGHT  OF  THE   WORLD 

in  their  denial  of  His  most  striking  manifestation,  the 
Son,  they  desire  to  learn  who  He  is  Himself;  voluntarily 
blind,  they  cry  out  to  the  sun:  "What  is  thy  light  and 
where  art  thou?"  The  sun  responds:  "I  am  the  focus 
wherein  the  light  is  seen:  look  at  me,  and  thou  shalt  see; 
we  are  one." 

It  was  in  the  Temple,  says  the  Evangelist,  and  near  to 
the  Hall  of  the  Treasury,*^  that  Jesus  made  this  courageous 
declaration. 

The  Sanhedrim  was  holding  its  conference  not  far  off. 
They  could  hear  Jesus'  voice,  and  listen  to  His  discourses 
without  the  aid  of  their  ministers.  The  Master  was  but 
little  troubled  by  their  proximity.  Besides,  no  one  ven- 
tured to  assail  Him.  The  hour  of  darkness  had  not  yet 
come. 

'The  Evangelist  takes  pains  to  point  out  the  importance  of  the  words 
uttered  by  Jesus,  ravra  to,  (t'fifj.ara,  and  the  place  where  they  were  uttered, 
the  Treasury,  situated  near  tlie  hall  of  the  Sanhedrim  known  by  the  name 
of  Gazith.  This  Treasury,  as  its  name  indicates,  was  the  place  where  all 
the  wealth  of  the  Temple  was  kept.  Heliodorus  (Macch.  ii)  had  once  tried 
to  enter  here  to  seize  them.  Thirteen  boxes  in  the  form  of  trumpets,  and 
therefore  named  Shofarot,  opened  on  the  outside  in  the  women's  vestibule, 
and  their  object  was  signified  by  various  inscriptions.  The  piety  of  the 
faithful  was  shown  here  by  special  gifts.  Each  trumpet  had  its  particular 
object  inscribed  upon  it.  (See  S}iekal.,  c.  vi,  1.)  On  one  was  written 
New  sides,  on  another  Old  sicks,  according  to  one's  intention  to  pay  the 
tax  of  the  current  or  of  the  past  year.  A  third  was  marked  Doves  and 
figeons;  a  fourth,  Holocaust,  etc. 


[241  ] 


CHAPTER    V 

THEY  WHO   BELIEVE  ALONE  ARE 
FREE  AND   DIE  NOT 

Jesus  Will  Abandon  Those  Who  Refuse  to  Accept 
Him — To  Be  Saved  One  Must  Believe  that  Jesus 
Is  He  —  Who  Is  He  ?  —  Sublime  Definition  —  The 
Jews  Shall  Not  Comprehend  It  Until  Latee — 
Those  Who  Believe  Alone  Are  Free — Although 
They  Call  Themselves  the  Children  of  Abraham, 
THE  Jews  Are  Slaves  of  Sin  and  Spiritual  Sons  op 
the  Demon — The  Fury  of  Those  Who  Hear  Him — 
Immortality  Promised  to  the  Faithful — Abraham 
Is  Less  than  Jesus — Violent  Ending  of  the  Discus- 
sion.     (St.  John  viii,  21-59.) 

However  triumphant  His  assertions  and  His  replies 
may  have  been,  since,  among  the  multitude,  secretly  leav- 
ened by  the  malice  of  the  Pharisees,  faith  seemed  on  the 
wane,  while  the  current  of  opposition  became  stronger  hour 
by  hour,  Jesus  began  sadly  to  repeat  the  threat  He  had 
already  uttered  against  His  declared  enemies :  "I  go  and 
you  shall  seek  Me,  and  ye  shall  die  in  your  sin.  Whither 
I  go  y^  cannot  come."  Nothing  could  be  more  categorical. 
They  refuse  to  see  the  light  before  their  eyes  ;  it  shall  there- 
fore be  transferred  elsewhere.  Thus  they  shall  forever 
dwell  in  the  darkness  they  have  desired.     Their  sin  lies  in 

[  242  ] 


BOOK  III]  THEY  WHO  BELIEVE 

their  opposition  to  Jesus'  authentic  mission.  It  shall  be 
the  cause  of  their  death,  for  their  souls  shall  perish  for  not 
having  acknowledged  the  Christ,  and  shall  be  reproved 
for  their  obstinacy  in  the  presence  of  His  striking  mani- 
festation. 

For  them  henceforth  there  is  no  Messiah  on  earth,  no 
Saviour  in  heaven.  In  pursuance  of  the  realisation  of 
their  material  ideas,  they  will,  perhaps,  breathe  fanaticism 
into  the  souls  of  some  poor  senseless  beings,  and  may  try 
to  raise  up  Messiahs  who  will  appear  ridiculous ;  but  they 
will  see  at  once  the  vanity  of  their  efforts.  Then  shall 
they  send  forth  their  cries  of  hope  or  of  impatience  in 
the  sight  of  God,  Who  shall  not  listen  to  them.  When 
one  does  not  accept  the  bridge  that  is  to  join  earth  to 
heaven,  he  remains  in  eternal  exile.  This  is  what  Jesus 
meant  to  tell  them  in  accents  as  tender  as  they  w^ere  awful. 

Once  again,  His  hearers,  treating  His  words  with  de- 
rision, asked  one  another  if  it  was  His  intention  to  go 
and  enforce  recognition  of  Himself  as  Messiah  no  longer 
merely  among  the  Gentiles,  but  among  the  dead.  "Will 
He  kill  ^  Himself,"  they  said,  "because  He  said.  Whither 
I  go,  you  cannot  come?"  Paying  no  heed  to  this  irony, 
Jesus  continued:  "Ye  are  from  beneath,  I  am  from  above. 
Ye  are  of  this  world,  I  am  not  of  this  world."  This  suf- 
fices to  prove  that  where  He  is  going  they  cannot  follow, 
since  they  are  neither  of  the  same  origin,  nor  of  the  same 
nature,  nor  for  the  same  fatherland.  They  who  resemble 
one  another  seek  one  another's  company.  Faith  alone  can 
establish  this  resemblance,  and,  together  with  the  same  as- 

'  Faber  (Epist.  1,  ii,  159)  has  conjectured  that  this  should  be  read: 
airo^evoT  instead  of  airoKrevel,  as  if  the  Jews  had  said :  "  Will  He  exile  Him- 
self?" instead  of:  "Will  He  kill  Himself?"  This  reading  has  only  the  ad- 
vantage of  reproducing  what  the  Jews  had  said  before,  but  it  is  unauthorised. 
We  can  see  nothing  imreasonable  in  supposing  that  the  Jews  indulged  in 
coarse  jokes.  They  asked  each  other  if  He  were  going  to  the  other  world. 
They  would  be  imwilling  to  follow  Him  there. 

[243] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

pirations,  provide  the  same  destiny.  Hence  the  logical  con- 
clusion that  if  they  do  not  approach  the  Master  by  faith, 
uniting  their  lives  with  His,  they  shall  all  perish  without 
repentance.  "For,"  He  adds,  "if  ye  believe  not  that  I  am 
He,  ye  shall  die  in  your  sins."  Nothing  could  be  more 
daring  than  the  form  that  Jesus  employs  here  to  express 
His  whole  dignity  with  a  reticence  full  of  meaning.  On 
the  one  hand.  He  alludes  to  the  definition  of  Himself  which 
God  had  formerly  given  to  Moses,^  and  thus  He  indicates 
His  divinity  and  the  necessary  faith  in  His  superior  na- 
ture ;  on  the  other,  He  does  not  express  His  title  as  Messiah 
and  Christ,  but  in  the  vague  and  solemn  phrasing  which 
He  employs  He  includes  the  complete  idea  of  His  Mes- 
sianic mission. 

The  Jews  then  press  Him  to  explain  His  thought :  again 
would  they  like  to  draw  from  Him  a  positive  avowal  of 
His  pretensions,  in  order  to  accuse  Him  with  greater  suc- 
cess. "Who  art  thou.'"'  they  exclaim.  And  Jesus,  com- 
pleting the  beautiful  definition  which  He  had  just  out- 
lined, fearless  of  their  violence,  adds :  "I  am  absolutely 
what  I  tell  you."  ^     He  is,  therefore,  the  Messiah,  and  is 

^  Literally  the  text  is:  "If  you  believe  not  that  I  am.  ..."  The  attribute 
is  wanting  in  the  clause.  But  either  it  is  in  the  verb,  and  then  the  text  must 
be  translated :  "  K  you  believe  not  that  I  am  in  existence,"  or,  in  other  words : 
"  If  you  believe  not  in  My  existence  as  the  Envoy  of  Heaven  " ;  or  it  is  not  in  the 
verb,  and  in  this  case  we  can  imagine  several  meanings :  "  If  j'ou  beheve  not 
that  I  am.  Who  am,"  whose  simUarity  to  God's  words  to  Moses  is  e\ident 
(Exod.  iii,  14) :  "  I  am  Who  am,"  or,  again,  "  If  you  beheve  not  that  I  am  He," 
that  is,  your  Messiah,  so  long  desired  and  celebrated  by  the  prophets;  or, 
in  fine,  "If  you  believe  not  that  I  am  the  sole  Messiah,"  and  in  this  case 
we  find  it  a  legitimate  parallel  to  the  passages  of  Detd.  xxxii,  39,  and 
Isa.  xliii,  10:  "that  you  may  know  that  I  am  Myself." 

^  The  text  is  obsctu-e,  and  interpretations  of  it  are  niunerous.  It  is  impos- 
sible to  translate  it:  "I  am  the  beginning  Who  speak  to  you."  Itwould  have 
to  read,  ri  apxh,  not  Tijy  apxh"-  TV  «pxV  must  necessarily  be  taken  as  an 
adverb,  as  it  is  frequently  in  the  Old  Testament  (Dan.  viii,  1 ;  Gen.  xli,  21 ; 
xliii,  20),  and  sometimes  in  profane  authors.  Thus  in  Herodotus,  ii,  28: 
&s  apxV  iyiviTo,  it  means /roTK  the  beginning,  whereas  ini,  9,  dpxV  y^P  ^7^ 
fitixay'ho'ofiat  ovTO)  wcrrf,  k.  t.  A..,  it  signifies  absolutely,  'precisely.  (Compare 
Xenophon,  Sympos.,  t.  15;  CEcon.,  li,  11;  viii,  2;  Cyrop.,  1,  2,  3;   Plato, 

[244] 


BooKiii]  THEY  WHO   BELIEVE 

such  from  the  beginning;  that  is  to  say,  that,  in  order  to 
make  Himself  thoroughly  known  to  those  who  question 
Him,  He  implies  that  He  is,  by  essence,  since  He  is  from 
all  eternity  as  God;  it  may  be,  even,  that  He  is  about  to 
speak  His  own  name,  the  Word,  and  thus  give  the  most 
complete  and  most  sublime  definition  of  His  person.  He 
had,  indeed,  many  other  explanations  and  even  accusations 
to  make,  all  as  true  as  God,  from  Whom  He  has  them  and 
in  Whose  name  He  speaks.  His  listeners  were  probably 
not  the  same  as  in  the  preceding  discourse,  since  the  Evan- 
gelist observes  that  they  did  not  understand  that  Jesus 
spoke  of  His  Father.  This  is  the  only  way  to  explain 
their  lack  of  intelligence. 

If  the  Master  had  not  as  yet  mentioned  before  them 
Him  from  Whom  He  held  His  mission,  we  can  understand 
how  their  minds  sought  upon  earth  Him  Who  could  be 
found  onljr  in  Heaven.  Besides,  the  mind  is  always  narrow 
when  the  heart  is  evil ;  it  may  be  that  this  multitude,  gath- 
ered from  all  parts,  was  not  very  good.  But  if  it  is  at 
present  incapable  of  understanding,  perhaps  for  it  the 
hour  of  great  enlightenment  shall  come  later  on.  "When 
you  shall  have  lifted  up  the  Son  of  Man,  then  shall  you 
know  that  I  am  He,  and  that  I  do  nothing  of  Myself,  but 
as  the  Father  hath  taught  Me,  these  things  I  speak;  and 
He  that  sent  Me  is  with  Me,  and  He  hath  not  left  Me 
alone,  for  I  do  always  the  things  that  please  Him."  W^hen 
they  see  Him,  despite  the  hatred  of  His  enemies,  coming 
forth  alive  from  the  arms  of  death  and  glorious  from  the 
depths  of  the  tomb,  they  shall  suspect,  perhaps,  that  His 
work  was  not  simply  His  own,  but  that  of  God,  His  Father, 
Whose  thought  He  reflected  and  Whose  word  He  repeated. 

Gorgias,  34;  Apol.  Socr.,  17.)  It  is  simpler,  therefore,  to  translate  the  text 
word  for  word,  regarding  the  verb  as  understood :  "  From  the  beginning  I 
am  what  I  tell  you,"  or,  more  daring  yet:  "From  the  begiiming  I  am  Who 
speak  to  you  [the  Wordj";  or,  in  fine,  "I  am  precisely  what  I  say  to  you." 

[245] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [paet  second 

On  that  day  of  restoration,  they  shall  comprehend  the  inti- 
mate union  that  existed  between  the  Envoy  and  Him  Who 
sent  Him.  The  Father  shall  have  proved  that  He  is  with 
the  Son,  communicating  to  Him  His  power  and  His  life, 
and  proclaiming  thus  His  fidelity  to  His  will.  Here  we 
find  one  of  the  many  proofs  of  the  perfect  sanctity  of 
Jesus.  He  is  conscious  of  having  continued  invariably, 
even  as  man,  in  the  most  perfect  union  with,  and  most  filial 
dependence  upon,  the  Father,  doing  all  that  He  desires 
and  because  He  desires  it. 

As  they  listened  to  the  development  of  these  words,  of 
which  the  Evangelist  evidently  gives  but  an  abridgment 
— a  fact  which  explains  their  comparative  obscurity — many 
believed  in  Jesus.  The  sublimity  of  this  doctrine,  which 
they  could  scarcely  grasp,  commanded,  however,  their  ad- 
miration. They  felt  themselves  moved  to  look  for  some- 
thing astonishing  from  a  man  who  spoke  such  lofty  dis- 
course. A  word  of  strong  conviction  always  impresses  the 
multitude,  even  though  it  be  beyond  its  intellectual  powers. 

A  part  of  these  new  believers,  observes  the  Evangelist, 
were  Jews,  that  is,  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem.  The  coura- 
geous and  triumphant  attitude  of  the  young  Prophet 
in  the  very  Temple  itself  suited  their  Messianic  hopes. 
Eagerly  wishing  for  a  Messiah,  they  believed  they  had 
found  Him. 

Jesus,  at  once  perceiving  the  false  direction  which  their 
faith  was  taking,  and  desirous  of  correcting  it,  announces 
to  them  the  freedom  of  the  soul,  which  is  better  than  that 
of  the  body,  and  the  removal  of  a  yoke  heavier  than  that  of 
the  Romans,  namely,  that  of  Satan  :  "If  you  continue  in  My 
word  you  shall  be  My  disciples  indeed.  And  you  shall  know 
the  truth,  and  the  truth  shall  make  you  free."  No  doubt 
to  persevere  in  the  faith  they  shall  have  to  surmount  many 
obstacles.     Their  first  care  must  be  faithfully  to  observe 

[246] 


BOOK  III]  THEY  WHO   BELIEVE 

the  teaching  they  have  received.  However  worthless  the 
soil,  they  shall  see  the  good  grain  mature,  and  the  results 
shall  prove  a  consolation.  What  joy  in  throwing  off  the 
yoke  of  sin,  and  in  finding  one's  self  once  more  free !  The 
word  they  have  received  is  the  truth,  the  truth  is  the  revela- 
tion of  good,  the  revelation  of  good  is  the  exclusion  of  evil, 
the  exclusion  of  evil  constitutes  the  holy  independence  of 
the  children  of  God.  In  this  sense  the  Messiah  is  truly 
a  Liberator,  and  His  coming  inaugurates  the  moral  emanci- 
pation of  mankind. 

These  words,  misunderstood  by  some,  maliciously  dis- 
torted by  others,  at  once  stirred  up  a  most  violent  storm. 
The  ancient  Judaical  pride  thus  offended  rebelled :  "We  are 
the  seed  of  Abraham,"  cried  out  some  patriots  in  the 
crowd,  "and  we  have  never  been  slaves  to  any  man.  How 
sayest  thou:  Ye  shall  be  free?"  One  is  struck  at  first  by 
the  claim  implied  in  tliis  outcry  on  the  part  of  the  Jews, 
and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  they  did  not  make  its  mean- 
ing clearer.  Had  they  done  so,  it  would  have  been  possi- 
ble to  discover  the  extremes  to  which  their  blind  vanity 
proceeded.  If  they  meant  to  speak  of  political  liberty, 
Egypt  and  Babylon  could  reply  that  their  fathers  had 
been  captives  in  a  strange  land,  and  their  national  history 
told  how,  even  in  Palestine,  they  had  more  than  once  been 
forced  to  bow  the  head  beneath  their  neighbour's  yoke. 
At  the  very  time  when  they  were  speaking  they  had  only 
to  raise  their  eyes  and  see  the  Roman  eagles  dominating 
the  citadels  of  the  city,  and  the  soldiers  of  Caesar  guard- 
ing the  Temple  from  the  top  of  the  tower  Antonia.  If 
they  wish  to  be  sincere,  instead  of  speaking  so  proudly, 
they  ought  to  cry  to  heaven,*  as  their  ancestors  did,  that 
they  are  bondsmen  in  the  very  land  where  God  has  estab- 
lished them.  If  they  mean  individual  Hberty,  we  can  in- 
*  II  Esdras  ix,  36. 

[247] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

deed  admit  that  the  Israehte  had  rarely  been  reduced  to 
the  condition  of  a  slave,  and  that  among  all  peoples,  the 
children  of  Abraham  better  than  all  others  bore  stamped 
upon  their  brows  the  dignity  of  free  men.  Even  if  they 
pretend  to  lay  claim  to  a  religious  superiority  over  all 
nations,  we  can  understand  the  grounds  of  this  pride.  By 
it  were  inspired  Moses  and  Daniel  in  their  courageous 
speech  in  the  name  of  their  people,  the  one  before  Pharaoh 
in  Egypt,  the  other  before  the  Chaldean  king.  But  Jesus 
was  not  referring  to  this  glorious  side  of  a  purely  natural 
dignity.  He  had  in  view  the  moral  slavery  that  sin  en- 
genders, and  the  corresponding  liberty  of  which  justice 
is  the  germ.  They,  in  their  ignorance,  received  as  an 
insult  the  most  consoling  of  promises. 

Undismayed,  the  Master  takes  up  both  parts  of  their 
objection  to  destroy  them  one  after  the  other.  Here  is 
His  thesis :  It  is  not  true  that  they  have  not  known  slavery ; 
it  is  not  true  that  they  are  Abraham's  posterity. 

"Amen,  amen,  I  say  to  you,  that  whosoever  committeth 
sin,  is  the  servant  of  sin."  Considered  as  an  act,  indeed, 
sin  is  but  a  service  offered  to  the  devil,  while  considered 
as  a  habit,  it  is  found  to  be  a  tyrant  imposing  on  man  its 
most  detestable  exactions.  St.  Paul  maintains  this  same 
doctrine  when  he  writes  ^  that  man  must  be  the  slave  either 
of  sin  or  of  justice,  and,  again,  that  the  sinner  yields  him- 
self to  be  the  slave  of  the  sin  that  he  commits ;  St.  Peter  ^ 
also  takes  these  words  of  the  Master  as  authority  in  de- 
claring that  the  sinner  becomes  the  slave  of  sin  which  has 
overcome  him.  "Now  the  servant  abideth  not  in  the  house 
forever,"  continues  Jesus.  He  is  with  the  master  of  the 
house  only  for  the  purpose  of  serving  him  in  a  humiliat- 

^  Rom.  vi,  16  et  seq.;  ^^i,  14. 

^  IT  Episi.  ii,  19:  "Promising  them  liberty,  whereas  they  themselves 
are  the  slaves  of  corruption.  For  by  whom  a  man  is  overcome,  of  the  same 
also  he  is  the  slave." 

[248] 


BOOK  in]  THEY  WHO  BELIEVE 

ing  condition.  The  hour  approaches  when  Hagar  is  to 
be  driven  from  the  domestic  hearth.  This  is  the  lot  of 
sinners,  who  may  be  tolerated  for  a  time  in  the  house  of 
God,  but  who  shall  be  expelled  therefrom  in  the  end,  as 
troublesome  and  disagreeable  strangers.  "But  the  Son 
abideth  forever,"  and  with  Him  dwell  those  whom  the 
Father  deigns  to  adopt,  because  the  Son  hath  chosen  them 
to  be  co-heirs  of  His  Kingdom.  "If,  therefore,  the  Son 
shall  have  made  you  free,  ye  shall  be  free  indeed."  For 
to  His  faithful  He  shall  communicate  His  rights  by  an 
act  of  His  love,  and  His  own  life  by  the  influence  of  His 
word.  It  is  in  this  sense  that  by  Him,  the  Eternal  Truth, 
the  blind  and  enslaved  Israelites  can  be  set  free. 

"I  know  that  ye  are  the  children  of  Abraham,  but  ye 
seek  to  kill  Me  because  My  word  hath  no  place  in  you." 
No  man  can  deny  their  noble  descent  through  the  long 
centuries,  but  a  certain  moral  fact,  their  obstinate  incre- 
dulity, has  compromised  it.  Can  they  be  children  of  the 
father  of  believers,  and  have  no  faith?  Can  they,  instead 
of  loving,  detest.''  Can  they  seek  to  kill  the  Messenger 
of  Heaven,  when  It  were  needful  to  welcome  Him.''  They 
are  far,  indeed,  from  the  great  patriarch,  who  saluted  God 
in  His  angels  beneath  the  ancient  oak  of  Mambre,  and 
hoped  against  all  hope  in  the  word  of  Jehovah.  "I,"  says 
Jesus,  with  mournful  irony,  "speak  that  which  I  have  seen 
with  My  Father ;  and  ye  do  the  things  which  ye  have  seen 
with  your  father."  Every  one  speaks  and  acts  according 
to  the  principle  from  which  he  proceeds.  But  there  are 
two  principles,  good  and  evil ;  two  fathers,  God  and  Satan. 
Since  they  to  whom  Jesus  speaks  have  other  views  and 
other  works  than  His,  it  is  clear  that  they  are  not  of  the 
same  line.  But  He  is  the  Son  of  God.  Therefore  they 
are  the  children  of  another.  This  conclusion  irritates 
them  still  further,  and  they  cry  out:  "Abraham  is  our 

[  249  ] 


LIFE  or  CHRIST  [pakt  second 

father."  Jesus  then  resumes  His  reply:  "If  ye  be  the 
children  of  Abraham,  do  the  works  of  Abraham.  But  now 
ye  seek  to  kill  Me,  a  man  who  has  spoken  the  truth  to  you 
which  I  have  heard  of  God.  This  Abraham  did  not.  Ye 
do  the  works  of  your  father."  The  moral  sonship  here 
meant  is  proved  by  moral  resemblance;  consequently  it 
cannot  exist  where  there  is  a  contradiction  in  conduct. 
Their  true  father  must  be,  not  he  whom  they  name,  but 
he  whom  they  imitate. 

It  is  at  this  moment  that  the  Jews,  perceiving  the  over- 
powering force  of  this  argument,  finally  pass  to  the  spirit- 
ual ground  to  which  Jesus  has  summoned  them.  "We  are 
not,"  say  they,  "born  of  fornication ;  we  have  one  Father, 
even  God."  It  is  true,  they  are  not  worshippers  of  false 
divinities ;  they  are  faithful  to  the  law  of  Moses ;  no  drop 
of  pagan  blood  flows  in  their  veins ;  they  can  boldly  pro- 
claim themselves  Israelites.  But  is  this  enough  to  prove 
their  sonship  ?  "If  God  were  your  Father,"  replies  Jesus, 
"ye  would  indeed  love  Me ;  for,  from  God  I  proceeded  and 
came,  for  I  came  not  of  Myself,  but  He  sent  Me.  Why 
do  ye  not  know  My  speech.'^  Because  ye  cannot  hear  My 
word.  Ye  are  of  your  father,  the  devil,  and  the  desires 
of  your  father  ye  will  do."  The  awful  word  has  at  last 
burst  from  the  Master's  lips.  For  a  moment  He  seemed 
to  cast  it  back  within  His  heart,  but  the  attitude  of  His 
enemies  drags  it  from  Him.  In  direct  line,  according  to 
the  spirit,  the  wicked  are  the  children  of  the  demon.  What 
matters,  after  this,  that  they  are  descended  from  Abra- 
ham according  to  the  flesh.''  Their  real  and  true  father, 
as  is  proved  by  their  hopes,  is  Satan.  "He  was  a  mur- 
derer from  the  beginning."  He  destroyed  mankind  in  the 
first  Adam,  and  he  is  preparing  to  destroy  it  again,  if 
possible,  in  the  Second.  It  is  he  who  breathed  anger  and 
vengeance,  together  with  all  the  passions,  into  the  human 

[250] 


BooKm]  THEY  WHO   BELIEVE 

soul ;  he  armed  the  hand  of  Cain  ^  against  his  brother, 
and  thereby  became  the  typical  murderer.  "And  he  stood 
not  In  the  truth,  because  truth  Is  not  In  him."  For  Satan, 
by  revolting  against  God,  made  himself  an  outcast  from 
eternal  truth ;  he  obstinately  shook  off  Its  light ;  he  is  shut 
up  In  the  darkness  of  falsehood,  without  a  single  ray  of 
moral  truth  ^  remaining  by  him.  The  sinful  man  Is  less 
unfortunate;  he  still  retains  some  fragments  of  it,  and 
hence  can  return  Into  the  light  by  the  way  of  penance. 
Satan  is  the  eternally  obstinate  one  who  will  not  be  con- 
verted, because,  rising  up  against  God  and  seeking  to 
destroy  Him  as  far  as  he  can,  he  has  made  absolute  false- 
hood the  full  development  of  his  being.  "When  he  speak- 
eth  a  He,  he  speaketh  of  his  own,  for  he  is  a  liar  and  the 
father  thereof."  The  demon  is  foredoomed  both  by  na- 
ture and  life  to  have  his  being  in  falsehood  as  In  his  proper 
element,  and  nothing  can  attract  him  to  the  truth.  Such 
also  Is  the  conduct  of  his  children.  "But  if  I  say  the  truth, 
ye  believe  Me  not,"  Jesus  goes  on.  They  have  a  horror 
of  the  light.  Yet  It  is  certain  that  the  Master's  word  has 
the  note  of  truth.  His  whole  life  proves  It,  for  he  who 
is  absolutely  just  cannot  lie.  "Which  of  you  shall  con- 
vince Me  of  sin?"  Fully  conscious  of  His  unalterable 
sanctity,  the  Son  of  God  interrupts  His  discourse  for  a 
moment,  and  In  solemn  silence  seems  to  defy  His  accusers. 
None  dares  rise  up  to  cast  a  shadow  over  His  lightsome 
face.  Therefore  by  their  own  confession.  He  is  without  sin. 
But,  If  He  is  without  sin,  He  lies  not.     "If  I  say  the  truth 

'  Comparison  of  this  passage  with  the  First  Epistle  of  St.  John,  ch.  iii, 
12  and  15,  seemed  to  many  to  show  that  Om-  Lord  in  thus  characterising 
Satan  had  in  \'iew  especially  the  mm-der  of  Abel.  But  it  is  probable  that 
He  was  inspired  also  with  a  more  general  idea. 

*  However,  the  devil  has  that  metaphysical  truth  by  which  he  is  a  being. 
That  which  is  is  true,  and  consequently  has  a  certain  measvu-e  of  truth. 
But  the  Saviour  here  means  to  speak  of  the  truth  which  is  in  the  will  and  in 
free  action.     We  must  not  look  for  it  in  Satan. 

[251] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

to  you,"  He  adds  with  new  energy,  "why  do  ye  not  be- 
lieve Me?"  He  has  challenged  His  enemies  to  judge  Him ; 
He  now  calls  upon  them  to  judge  themselves  in  turn.  As 
they  make  no  reply.  He  draws  the  conclusion,  which  was 
the  very  point  to  be  demonstrated:  "He  that  is  of  God, 
heareth  the  words  of  God.  Therefore  ye  hear  them  not, 
because  ye  are  not  of  God." 

Then  the  fury  of  the  people  broke  forth  in  insults :  "Do 
we  not  say  well,"  they  cried  out,  "that  thou  art  a  Samari- 
tan, and  hast  a  devil.''"  A  Samaritan  to  the  Jews'  mind 
was  not  only  a  heretic,  but,  above  all,  a  miscreant  and  one 
possessed  of  a  devil;  he  was  a  madman.  Impiety  and 
lunacy,  in  their  opinion,  alone  could  have  dictated  the 
incomparable  discourses  which  they  had  just  heard;  and, 
after  having  taken  Jesus'  reasoning  as  so  many  insults, 
they  offer  Him  insults  in  return  as  reasons.  But  the 
Saviour  makes  it  clear  that  their  insults  do  not  trouble 
His  peace  of  soul.  "I  have  not  a  devil,"  He  says,  "but 
I  know  My  Father,  and  ye  have  dishonoured  Me."  There 
is,  then,  a  radical  opposition  between  Him  and  the  Jews. 
He  is  eager  to  glorify  His  Father,  and  thus  prove  His 
real  Sonship ;  they  are  anxious  to  injure  Him  in  the  per- 
son of  His  Messenger  Who  glorifies  Him,  and  thus  they 
disclose  their  diabolical  parentage.  Happily,  the  Son  has 
not  to  seek  His  own  glory,  "there  is  one  that  seeketh  and 
judgeth." 

Returning  then  to  those  of  His  hearers  who  are  still 
sympathetic  toward  Him,  He  endeavours  with  a  last  word 
to  sustain  their  courage. 

"Amen,  amen,  I  say  to  you,"  He  says,  "if  any  man 
keep  My  word,  he  shall  not  see  death  forever."  He  meant 
by  this  not  only  spiritual  death,  but,  in  general,  the  death 
that  true  believers  are  to  vanquish,  as  the  Son  of  INIan 
has  vanquished  it.     This  assertion  again  scandalises  them 

[252] 


BOOK  III]  THEY  WHO  BELIEVE 

and  gives  rise  to  a  new  outbreak  more  awful  than  the 
first.  "Now  we  know,"  exclaimed  the  multitude,  "that 
thou  hast  a  devil.  Abraham  is  dead,  and  the  prophets, 
and  thou  sayest:  If  any  man  keep  My  word,  he  shall  not 
taste  death  forever.  Art  thou  greater  than  our  father 
Abraham,  who  is  dead.''  And  the  prophets  are  dead. 
Whom  dost  thou  make  thyself?"  Once  again  Jesus  will 
not  respond  to  this  perilous  question  maliciously  and  per- 
sistently renewed  by  His  adversaries,  but  His  very  silence 
on  this  point  lets  us  know  that  He  holds  Himself  greater 
than  Abraham  and  all  the  prophets.  Yet  it  is  not  by  His 
own  testimony  that  He  wishes  to  establish  His  greatness ; 
He  leaves  this  to  His  Father,  Who  has  assumed  the  work 
of  declaring  and  proving  Who  He  is.  "If  I  glorify  My- 
self, My  glory  is  nothing.  It  is  My  Father  that  glorifi- 
eth  Me,  of  whom  ye  say  that  He  is  your  God."  And, 
indeed,  the  prophecies  fulfilled,  the  miracles  achieved  are 
nothing  other  than  the  voice  of  this  God.  "And  ye  have 
not  known  Him,  but  I  know  Him ;  and  if  I  shall  say  that 
I  know  Him  not,  I  shall  be  like  to  you,  a  liar.  But  I  do 
know  Him  and  do  keep  His  word."  Thus  is  He,  as  Man, 
the  chief  and  model  of  believers,  the  first  to  merit  the 
reward  and  the  first  to  receive  it.  They  who  shall  imitate 
Him  in  His  fidelity  to  His  Father  shall  be,  like  Him,  free, 
and,  like  Him,  stronger  than  death.  He  opens  the  great 
era  of  triumph  and  joy  for  the  universe;  He  realises  all 
the  hopes  of  its  patriarchs  and  fulfils  all  the  desires  of 
fallen  humanity.  "Abraham,  your  father,  rejoiced  that 
he  might  see  My  day ;  he  saw  it  and  was  glad."  ^ 

'  Did  he  see  it,  during  his  life,  not  only  in  prophetic  figure,  but  also  in  an 
ecstatic  vision?  Some  would  insist  upon  this,  but  it  is  scarcely  probable. 
Jesus  speaks  here  of  Abraham  after  death,  and  He  means  tliat  amid  the 
imperfect  joys  of  the  other  world,  which  he  possessed,  the  patriarch  awaited 
his  Liberator,  and  when  he  saw  Him  arising  after  many  centuries  of  waiting, 
he  leaped  with  joy  in  Limbo,  or  in  the  depth  of  his  tomb.  The  opinion  that 
the  dead  follow  with  interest  the  events  of  earth  was  no  more  foreign  to  the 

[253] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

What  a  contrast !  The  father  longed  for  Him  with  so 
much  patience,  welcomed  Him  with  so  much  love ;  the  chil- 
dren deny  Him  with  so  much  obstinacy  or  endure  Him 
with  so  much  hate !  "Thou  art  not  yet  fifty  years  old,"  ^^ 
they  exclaimed  indignantly,  "and  hast  Thou  seen  Abra- 
ham?" And  Jesus,  with  an  impressive  solemnity  that  lends 
meaning  to  every  word  of  His  thought,  replies :  "Amen, 
amen,  I  say  to  you.  Before  Abraham  was  made,^^  I  am.^^ 
Abraham  was  born,  like  every  other  creature ;  He  was  not 
born,  He  has  not  been.  He  never  shall  be;  He  knows  but 
one  moment  in  His  superior  existence,  it  is  the  present  that 
marks  the  eternal  actuality  of  His  existence :  He  is.  And 
so  He  returns  to  the  definition  which  He  has  twice  given 
of  Himself  in  this  discourse,  and  fears  not  to  speak  the 
language  of  Jehovah,  His  Father.  I  am,  this  is  at  once 
His  name,  the  secret  of  His  nature  and  of  His  incompara- 
ble superiority  over  Abraham  and  all  the  representatives 
of  mankind. 

After  such  an  assertion,  there  was  nothing  more  to  do 
than  to  fall  on  one's  knees  and  adore,  or  to  take  up  stones 
and  protest.  The  malice  of  the  Jews  chose  the  latter 
course  ;^^  but  Jesus,  aided  by  the  tumult  and  protected 

Jews  than  to  the  pagans.  The  former  beheld  (Isa.  xxix,  22,  23)  Jacob  in 
the  tomb  troubled  about  the  lot  of  his  children,  and  the  latter  acknowledged 
with  the  poet  that  the  dead  are  not  wholly  unconcerned  in  the  things  of  the 
earth.     (Virgil,  ^n.,  vi,  655.) 

"  Some  ancient  writers,  among  others  St.  Irenseus  (Adi\  Hceres.,  3,  22), 
concluded  from  this  passage  that  Our  Lord  was  then  more  than  forty  years 
old;  but  everything  is  against  this  interpretation.  The  Jews  here  took 
fifty  years  as  a  roimd  figure,  an  extreme  concession,  and  not  as  an  exact  limit. 
They  mean,  "  Thou  hast  not  yet  passed  the  ripe  age.  Thou  art  not  yet  an 
old  man,  and  hast  Thou  seen  Abraham?" 

^'The  most  exact  translation  would  be:  "Before  Abraham  became,  I 
am."  The  verb  yiv4<r6ai  indicates  the  passing  from  nothing  into  being,  and 
it  belongs  to  Abraham,  a  mere  creature.  The  verb  eiful,  "  I  am,"  and  not 
"  I  was,  '  excluding  the  idea  of  becoming,  a  transition,  proclaims  the  God  in 
Jesus. 

''  In  all  probability  this  took  place  in  the  enclosure  of  the  Temple.  It  was 
easy  to  find  stones  there  at  this  time  when  the  repairing  of  the  Temple  was 

[254] 


BOOK  III]  THEY  WHO   BELIEVE 

by  His  friends,  or,  perhaps,  by  a  miracle  of  His  power, 
suddenly  concealed  Himself  from  their  fury. 

He  left  His  courageous  declaration  to  this  excited  mul- 
titude as  another  argument  to  condemn  those  whom  He 
had  not  been  able  to  convince. 

not  yet  completed.     (St.  John  ii,  20.)    It  was  only  under  Herod  Agrippa  II 
that  the  work  ceased. 


[255] 


CHAPTER    VI 

THE   MAN   BORN   BLIND 

The  Disciples'  Question  Concerning  Physical  Evil  in 
THE  Case  of  One  Born  Blind — Jesus'  Response — 
Conditions  Under  Which  He  Gives  the  Blind  Man 
THE  Sense  of  Sight — Siloe  and  Its  Mystical  Sig- 
nification— General  Excitement  Produced  by  the 
Miracle — The  Inquisition  and  What  Came  of  It — 
The  Triumphant  Attitude  of  the  Man  Who  Was 
Cured  —  Results  of  the  Miracle  :  for  the  Blind 
Man,  Faith  ;  for  Others,  Obstinacy  in  Their  Blind- 
ness.     (St.  John  ix,  1-41.) 

As  He  was  leaving  the  Temple  and  the  tumultuous 
crowd,  Jesus  noticed,  seated  in  the  place  set  apart  for 
beggars,^  a  man  who  had  been  blind  from  his  birth.  The 
pity  which  He  ^  seemed  to  feel  for  him  struck  the  disci- 
ples, and  as  they  in  turn  began  to  realise  the  sad  condi- 
tion of  the  unfortunate  man,  they  set  about  investigating 
its  cause.  "Rabbi,"  they  asked,  "who  hath  sinned,  this 
man  or  his  parents,  that  he  should  be  born  blind.'"'  This 
indeed  is  a  question  that  has  always  appealed  to  serious 
men,  namely,  the  question  of  physical  evil  when  appar- 
ently unattended  by  moral  evil  or  sin. 

'  This  was  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Temple.     (Compare  Ads  iii,  2.) 
^  The  word  eJSev  indicates  that  Jesus  regarded  the  blind  man  with  par- 
ticular attention. 

[256] 


BooKni]  THE  MAN  BORN   BLIND 

In  the  present  instance,  the  Apostles  without  doubt  per- 
ceive two  solutions  of  the  difficulty :  the  man  is  punished 
either  for  his  own  sins  or  for  those  of  his  family.  The 
first  hypothesis  seems  to  them  scarcely  satisfactory.  For 
the  beggar  was  born  blind;  to  say  that  God  struck  him 
in  anticipation  of  his  future  faults  is  too  improbable,  to 
admit  that  He  punished  him  for  crimes  of  which  he  was 
guilty  either  in  a  former  life  or  in  the  womb  of  his  mother, 
is  impossible  to  a  Jew ;  such  chimerical  theories  were  left  to 
the  philosophers  of  India  or  Egypt.^ 

There  remained  therefore  the  second  supposition,  which 
was  much  more  in  keeping  with  the  principles  of  the  Rab- 
binical school.  The  parents  of  tliis  man  might  have  sinned 
for  him.  It  was  admitted  that  a  law  of  solidarity  caused 
not  only  the  blood  but  also  the  merits  and  demerits  of 
parents  to  be  transmitted  into  the  life  of  the  children. 
God  had  said  that  He  would  visit  the  crimes  of  the  head 
of  the  family  upon  the  fourth  generation,  and  would  re- 
ward \artue  unto  the  thousandth.^  This  perhaps  is  the 
case  here. 

However,  the  disciples  propose  their  twofold  explana- 
tion only  with  distrust,  and  they  seem  to  look  for  a  third. 
For  Jesus,  indeed,  replied:  "Neither  hath  this  man  sinned 
nor  his  parents ;  but  that  the  works  of  God  should  be 
made  manifest  in  him."  Good  works  should  be  performed 
parallel  with  evil  works.  In  the  trial,  even  though  un- 
just, which  he  undergoes,  the  virtuous  man  is  called  upon 
to  glorify  God  by  the  example  of  humble  patience,  by  the 

^  Some  have  thought  from  a  passage  in  Josephus  (B.  J.,  bk.  ii,  ch.  xii) 
that  the  Pharisees  of  those  times  beheved  in  the  transmigration  of  souls, 
but  it  is  generally  admitted  that  the  alleged  text  treats  of  the  resurrection  of 
the  body.  It  is  not  even  probable  that  they  believed  in  the  pre-existence  of 
souls.  No  trace  of  this  doctrine  is  found  in  the  writings  posterior  to  Jesus 
Christ,  and  we  suppose  that  it  was  borrowed  from  the  Gnostic  sects  of  the 
early  Christian  ages. 

*  Exod.  XX,  5. 

[257] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [pakt  second 

courage  he  shows  in  paying  his  share  of  expiation  in  the 
history  of  mankind,  and,  finally,  by  the  opportunity  he 
presents  to  the  good  to  practise  charity,  and  to  God  to 
prove  by  His  miraculous  intervention  His  inexhaustible 
mercy. 

In  the  present  instance,  the  providential  result  of  this 
unfortunate  man's  infirmity  shall  be  to  show  forth  the 
omnipotence  of  the  Messiah,  and  thereby  awaken  faith  in 
souls.  "I,"  said  Jesus,  "must  work  the  works  of  Him 
that  sent  Me,  whilst  it  is  day:  the  night  cometh  when  no 
man  can  work.  As  long  as  I  am  in  the  world,  I  am  the 
Light  of  the  world."  Thus  the  Heavenly  Worker  sees  ap- 
proaching the  end  of  His  hard  day,  and  wishes  to  neglect 
nothing  in  order  to  increase  the  glory  of  Him  Who  has 
sent  Him  to  labour  in  the  field  of  humanity.  After  death 
He  will  enter  into  eternal  rest.  The  time  for  Messianic 
action  shall  have  passed.  Since  He  has  presented  Him- 
self in  the  Temple  as  the  Light  of  the  world.  He  will 
prove  that  He  has  uttered  no  untruth.  Therefore  He  will 
cause  the  divinity  of  His  mission  to  shine  in  the  eyes  of 
all,  and  the  light  of  day  to  penetrate  the  eyes  of  this 
blind  man. 

Then,  spitting  upon  the  ground,  Jesus  mingled  some  of 
the  soil  with  His  own  saliva  and  applied  it  to  the  eyes 
of  the  man  who  was  born  blind.  "Go,"  He  said  to  him, 
"wash  in  the  pool  of  Siloe."  Was  it  the  Master's  wish 
to  recall  with  this  clay  which  He  mixed  with  His  hands 
the  act  of  the  Creator  in  the  beginning  of  the  world,  and 
to  intimate  that  He,  too,  was  about  to  produce  a  new  sense 
in  this  sightless  man ;  or  did  He  mean  simply  to  protest 
against  the  Pharisees'  ridiculous  prescriptions  concerning 
the  Sabbath  ?  ^     Both  suppositions  have  been  entertained, 

*  Tanchuma,  fol.  10,  2:  "Dixit  Samuel:  Etiam  sputum  jejunum  ponere 
vetitum  est  super  palpebras  Sabbato." 

[258] 


BooKui]  THE  MAN  BORN  BLIND 

but  no  one  has  perceived  the  mystical  and  most  important 
sense  conveyed  by  the  Master  in  this  action.  Assuredly, 
it  is  undeniable  that  to  cure  this  blind  man,  Jesus  had  no 
need  either  to  cover  his  eyes  with  mud  or  to  send  him  to 
Siloe.  In  reality  His  true  remedy  for  the  sick  was  His 
own  omnipotence.  But  then  why  has  this  omnipotence 
made  His  action  here  subordinate  to  altogether  superfluous 
extei'ior  means? 

The  Evangelist,  in  order  to  guide  us  in  our  understand- 
ing of  the  mystery,  remarks  that  the  name  Siloam  or 
Siloe  signifies  sent.^  This  fountain  was  south  of  the  city 
between  JMounts  Sion  and  Ophel,  almost  at  the  point 
where  the  Tyropoeon  rejoined  the  valleys  of  Hinnon  and 
Josaphat.  Its  waters,  divided  into  two  vast  basins,  served 
for  the  washing  of  clothes.  Here,  too,  came  to  be  puri- 
fied those  who  had  contracted  any  impurity.      So  useful  a 

'  There  is  no  doubt  that  silohah  is  a  substantive  or  verbal  adjective  derived 
from  salah  ("  to  send  "),  either  in  the  passive  participle  kal  or  in  the  jpihel, 
with  a  solution  of  the  strong  daguesch  in  iod.  (See  Ewald,  Lehrb.  d.  Hebr. 
Spr.,  §  155,  a,  and  156,  b.)  The  waters  of  Siloe  were  an  outflow  of  the  spring 
which  later  was  called  the  Fountain  of  the  Virgin.  Captain  Warren  and 
several  others  have  traced  the  entire  course  of  the  canal  from  one  pool  to  the 
other;  the  history  of  its  construction  has  been  discovered  in  six  lines  of 
Hebrew  of  the  time  of  the  Kings.  (Cf.  Notre  Voyage  aux  Pays  Bibliques, 
vol.  i,  p.  385.)  The  following  is  a  translation  of  this  curious  inscription, 
with  its  omissions,  the  only  one,  except  that  of  the  stele  of  Mesa,  that  remains 
of  the  royal  epoch.  "...  Cutting  of  the  tuimel.  This  is  the  history  of 
the  digging ;  when  .  .  .  one  pick  against  the  other.  And  when  there  were 
only  three  more  cubits  to  cut  away,  they  heard  one  another  shouting  that 
the  .  .  .  was  in  the  rock  to  the  right  and  the  left.  And  on  the  day  when 
they  cut  through,  the  miners  struck  their  picks  one  against  the  other.  And 
tlie  waters  flowed  from  the  reservoir  to  the  birket  over  a  course  of  1,200  cubits, 
and  the  height  of  the  rock  above  the  head  of  the  miners  was  100  cubits." 

The  drilling  of  this  tunnel,  although  marked  by  many  delays  due  to  the 
want  of  a  compass,  is,  indeed,  a  very  remarkable  achievement.  From  start 
to  finish  there  is  a  grade  of  thirty  centimetres,  which  tells  with  what  skill 
the  canal  was  planned.  The  walls  and  cracks  in  the  drain  dug  in  the  tufa 
are  coated  with  a  layer  of  red  and  very  hard  cement.  The  gallery,  roughly 
hewn,  reaches  in  some  places  a  height  of  four  and  one-half  metres,  in  others 
only  forty-five  centimetres;  in  the  latter  places  one  must  crawl  on  hands 
and  knees  in  order  to  get  through.  This,  together  with  the  unevenness  and 
numerous  blind  alleys,  makes  it  very  difiicult  to  explore  the  tunnel. 

[259] 


LIFE   OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

spring,  whose  waters  flowed  with  silence,  according  to  the 
prophet's  words,^  and,  although  rising  and  falling  inter- 
mittently, never  ran  dry,  was  a  great  blessing  for  the  city. 
Hence  the  comparison  made  between  it  and  the  Messiah. 
It  was  from  this  spring  and  from  no  other  that  the  water 
was  drawn  for  the  mystical  libation  of  the  golden  urn. 
Issuing  from  the  earth  below  the  hill  of  the  Temple  and 
running  from  east  to  west,  beside  the  Sanctuary,  it  might 
well  seem  the  typical  image  of  the  Heavenly  Envoy  Who 
would  come  forth  from  the  bosom  of  His  Father  to  wash 
away,  like  the  waters  of  Siloe,  the  stains  of  sinners  and 
to  quench  the  thirst  of  the  just. 

Jesus  therefore,  having  solemnly  announced  that  He  was 
the  true  fountain  of  life,  the  Siloe  of  the  spiritual  order, 
wishes  to  furnish  a  proof  of  it.  The  clay  which  He  has 
applied  to  the  blind  man's  eyes  will  render  more  tangible 
the  comparison  between  the  prophetic  symbol  and  its  living 
realisation.  For,  whereas  the  water  of  the  fountain  will 
remove  the  earthy  envelope  from  those  sightless  eyes,  it  is 
He,  Jesus,  the  Spring  of  all  charity,  the  True  One  sent 
from  heaven  (Siloe),  Who  will  penetrate  the  depths  of  the 
eye  to  bring  back  life,  and  the  inner  regions  of  the  soul 
to  wash  away  sin  by  the  inpouring  of  grace. 

Such  is  the  real  sense  of  the  order  Jesus  gives  to  the 
blind  man.  The  sacred  spring  was  at  some  distance  from 
the  Temple.^     While  the  blind  man  was  being  led  thither, 

'  Isa.  \\\\,  6. 

*  It  was  difficult,  during  our  first  two  journeys  in  the  East,  to  form  from 
the  actual  condition  of  the  fountain  of  Siloe  any  idea  of  what  it  had  formerly 
been.  We  owe  it  to  the  excavations  made  by  Mr.  Bliss  in  1896,  that  we 
have  recently  been  able  to  follow  the  road  taken  by  the  blind  man  from  the 
time  he  left  the  Temple,  or  rather  the  Double  Gate,  the  ordinary  rendezvous 
of  beggars,  till  he  reached  the  pool  of  Siloe,  which  has  been  discovered  in 
the  almost  quadrangular  shape  which  it  had  formerly.     A  good  road,  well 

Eaved,  descended  from  the  Double  Gate  and  joined  a  street  of  steps,  running 
etween  one  of  the  walls  of  the  town  to  the  west,  and  that  of  the  piscina 
to  the  east.      These  two  walls  not  being  absolutely  parallel,  the   higher 

[260] 


BOOK  III]  THE   MAN  BORN   BLIND 

the  Master  departed  with  His  disciples.  He  had  no  in- 
terest in  proving  the  reahty  of  the  miracle,  whereas  He 
had  a  great  deal  to  gain  by  being  absent  from  the  crowd 
when  the  blind  man  should  return  able  to  see. 

The  sudden,  radical,  and  final  cure  took  place  as  Jesus 
had  promised,  and  when  the  subject  of  the  miracle,  on  his 
way  back  from  Siloe,  entered  the  city,  it  was  quite  an 
event.  His  neighbours,  who  were  accustomed  to  see  him 
begging,  halted  in  astonishment,  saying:  "Is  not  this  he 
that  sat  and  begged?"  Some  replied:  "This  is  he";  and 
others  exclaimed:  "No,  but  he  is  like  him."  But  he  who 
had  been  cured  cleared  away  the  difficulty  by  assuring  them 
that  it  was  indeed  no  other,  and  to  all  their  questions  he 
invariably  replied  that  a  man  called  Jesus  had  prepared 
clay,  and  had  then  covered  his  eyes  with  it,  and  had  bidden 
him  go  bathe  in  Siloe;  that  he  had  obeyed  His  command, 
and  that  now  he  saw.^  When  they  asked  where  Jesus  was, 
he  answered :  "I  know  not." 

steps  are  a  little  wider  than  the  lower  ones :  thus  the  former  measure  7  m.  22 
and  the  latter  only  6  m.  70.  They  vary  also  in  height  from  16  to  24  centi- 
metres, and  in  depth  from  1  m.  50  to  4  m.  There  must  have  been  some 
reason  for  such  irregularities,  since  they  are  found  also  in  the  primitive  stair- 
way hewn  partly  in  the  rock  and  discovered  underneath  the  steps  constructed 
in  the  Roman  or  Byzantine  epoch.  However  this  may  be,  we  can  picture 
to  om-selves,  and  not  without  pious  emotion,  the  blind  man,  slowly  descend- 
ing this  uneven  roadway,  and  leaning  against  the  walls  to  guide  his  footsteps. 
If  he  followed  the  more  ancient  stairs,  and  we  are  of  the  opinion  that  he  did, 
he  must  have  entered  the  piscina,  which  measured  23  m.  by  21  m.  50,  by 
the  northern  portico  where  afterward  was  built  a  church  which  has  been 
excavated  with  its  marble,  mosaic  pavement,  its  three  naves,  and  the  apse 
Tvath  semicircular  tiers.  By  the  more  recent  stairs  the  piscina  was  ap- 
proached from  the  south,  across  a  court-yard  from  which  one  reached  the 
pool  by  steps.  This  was  not  the  most  direct  way  for  the  blind  man,  and  we 
ought  to  suppose  that  he  preferred  it  rather  than  the  other.  Slowly  and 
carefully  had  he  found  his  way  down  these  uneven  steps  which  led  from  the 
Temple  and  the  town,  but  with  joy  and  haste  must  he  have  mounted  them 
again.  What  a  debt  of  gratitude  we  owe  to  those  excavators  who  enable 
us  to  reconstruct  thus  the  Gospel  history  on  the  very  spot  where  it  was 
enacted ! 

°  There  is  no  reason  for  siu-prise  at  the  term  av(fiXe>pa,  "  I  have  recovered 
my  sight,"  as  used  by  one  born  blind.     Grotius  replies  to  this  very  suita- 

[261] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  Lpart  second 

It  would  be  difficult  to  imagine  anything  more  lifelike, 
more  natural,  more  complete  than  this  description  given 
by  the  Evangelist.  In  the  multitude  every  shade  of  hesi- 
tation, of  incredulity,  of  conviction ;  in  the  man  whose 
sight  was  restored,  the  enthusiastic  ingenuousness  of  a 
sincere  man.  The  universal  excitement  leads  to  an  inquiry. 
The  Thaumaturgus  is  called  for.  The  beggar  scarcely 
knows  Him;  he  gives  His  name  correctly,  but  can  tell  no 
more  about  Him.  But  the  man  called  Jesus  is  no  longer 
there.     He  has  done  a  good  work,  and  has  passed  on. 

All  this  happened  on  a  Sabbath-day.  The  curiosity  to 
prove  juridically  so  strange  a  miracle,  the  fact  of  the  Sab- 
bath violated  by  the  healing  of  a  sick  man,  the  deep  enmity 
against  Him  Whom  the  mendicant  had  just  named,  gave 
rise  to  as  many  serious  motives  for  deferring  the  matter 
to  a  council  of  competent  men.  The  members  of  this  tri- 
bunal, however,  are  not  known.  On  the  Sabbath-day 
neither  the  Sanhedrim  nor  any  other  tribunal  held  court. 
There  is  probably  question  here  of  a  mere  improvised 
assembly  in  the  first  synagogue  encountered,  in  which  the 
Pharisees  assumed  for  themselves  the  principal  part.  With 
their  carping  minds  and  their  avowed  hostility  they  could 
not  but  constitute  a  severe  and  unfavourably  disposed  tri- 
bunal. Even  to-day  our  positivist  philosophers  would  not 
proceed  to  an  inquest  with  more  cleverness  or  more  obsti- 
nate malevolence.  They  began  by  questioning  the  beggar 
and  making  him  repeat  his  story.  He  did  so  with  per- 
fect exactitude,  using  the  very  same  terms  as  in  his  first 
deposition. 

bly,  "Non  male  recipere  quis  dicitur,  quod  communiter  tributum  humanse 
naturae  ipsi  abfuit."  Pausanias  (Messen,  iv,  12,  5),  and  the  Gospel  of 
Nicodemus  (vi),  employ  the  same  expression  in  speaking  of  some  who  had 
been  born  blind  and  who  recovered  their  sight.  To  see  is  a  natural  right 
belonging  to  man,  so  much  so  that  even  when  deprived  of  it  from  his  birth, 
one  may  still  say  that  he  recovers  it  the  day  on  which  he  obtains  his  sight. 

[262] 


BOOK  III]  THE  MAN  BORN   BLIND 

At  once  a  discussion  arose  as  to  the  appreciation  of  the 
facts,  and  two  well-defined  factions  were  formed.  For 
some,  the  point  worthy  of  attention  was  that  the  Thauma- 
turgus  had  allowed  Himself  not  only  to  effect  a  medicinal 
cure  on  the  Sabbath-day,  which  in  itself  was  a  sin,  but 
also  to  prepare  clay,^*^  which  was  really  a  crime.  For 
others,  the  clearest  point  was  that  a  miracle  had  been  per- 
formed.^^ And  while  the  former  concluded  that  he  could 
not  be  of  God  who  did  not  observe  the  Sabbath,  the  lat- 
ter contended  that  a  sinner  could  not  work  such  wonders. 
Both  parties  became  bitterly  aroused,  and  the  discussion 
was  heated.  They  appealed  to  the  judgment  of  the  wit- 
ness. "What  sayest  thou  of  Him  that  hath  opened  thy 
eyes.'"'  He  answered:  "He  is  a  prophet."  Common-sense 
could  find  no  other  conclusion  in  the  presence  of  such  a 
miracle.  But  they  who  had  put  the  question  counted  on 
a  reply  less  clear,  which  would  leave  some  room  for  an 
explanation  of  this  prodigy  by  sorcery  or  by  some  device 
of  the  medical  art.  They  were  angered  at  having  obtained 
such  a  reply. 

From  this  moment  it  is  the  purely  malevolent  party  of 
the  tribunal  alone  that  conducts  the  affair.  Pretending 
to  look  upon  the  mendicant  as  an  impostor  in  connivance 
with  Jesus  to  impose  upon  the  multitude,  the  judges  re- 

"  The  Evangelist  emphasises  rhv  TrriAhv  iiroir)<Ttv  intentionally.  This  was 
the  principal  grievance  of  the  extreme  defenders  of  the  Sabbatic  rest. 

''  This  is  the  ordinary  way  of  interpreting  their  opinion,  and  it  is  supported 
by  the  consideration  that  Jesus  had  followers  even  among  the  chiefs  of 
the  Pharisees.  (St.  John  vii,  50.)  Nevertheless  their  objection  might  be 
understood  in  this  sense,  that  it  is  not  possible  for  a  transgressor  of  the 
Sabbath  to  perform  a  miracle,  and  thus  the  latter  arrived  at  the  same  con- 
clusion as  the  former:  "There  can  be  no  miracle  in  this  case,"  or,  still  better, 
the  former  laid  down  the  major  of  the  syllogism:  "He  is  an  enemy  of  God 
who  transgresses  the  Sabbath,"  the  latter  the  minor:  "But  an  enemy  of 
God  cannot  perform  such  great  miracles."  And  both  conclude  that  there  is 
no  miracle.  However,  as  the  text  adds  that  there  was  a  conflict  between 
the  various  opinions,  the  explanation  we  have  followed  is  the  more 
probable. 

[263] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

sume,  as  the  point  of  the  discussion,  the  reality  of  the 
miracle  itself,  and  not  the  consequences  to  be  drawn  from  it. 
They  therefore  appeal  to  the  testimony  of  the  father 
and  the  mother.  Having  cited  them  before  their  bar,  they 
directed  their  questions  to  three  principal  points,  the 
identity  of  the  individual :  "Is  this  your  son  ?^'  the  certainty 
of  his  affliction :  "Who  you  say  was  born  blind?"  and  finally 
the  secret  of  his  cure:  "How  then  doth  he  now  see.'"'  To 
the  first  two  questions  the  parents  respond  in  the  affirma- 
tive and  without  any  embarrassment.  The  third  forces 
them  to  excuse  their  timidity  and  to  deny  their  ability  to 
answer.  The  rumour  was  current  among  the  people — the 
system  of  intimidation  has  been  employed  in  all  times — 
that  the  Pharisees  had  resolved  to  exclude  from  the  Syna- 
gogue all  who  should  acknowledge  Jesus  as  the  Christ.  No 
doubt,  the  fear  of  making  the  opposition  stronger  by  such 
violence  withheld  them  from  fulfilling  these  threats.  But 
they  succeeded  none  the  less  in  cooling  the  zeal  of  some, 
and  frequently  in  silencing  the  faith  of  the  most  strongly 
convinced.  This  is  what  happens  now.  In  view  of  the 
excommunication  that  may  exclude  them  from  the  Syna- 
gogue and  even  from  the  people  of  God,^^  the  witnesses 
questioned  declare  themselves  unable  to  answer  the  last 
question.  "But  how  he  now  seeth,  we  know  not ;  or  who 
hath  opened  his  eyes,  we  know  not;  ask  the  man  himself, 
he  is  of  age,  let  him  speak  for  himself." 

*^  According  to  the  Talmud,  there  were  three  grades  of  excommunication: 
The  hghtest  excluded  from»the  Synagogue,  and  from  contact  with  all  Israelites, 
including  members  of  the  famUy,  with  whom  one  excommunicated  could 
not  come  in  contact,  unless  at  a  distance  of  four  arm's-lengths.  Another, 
severer,  which  was  vaUdly  pronounced  only  by  an  assembly  of  ten  men, 
forbade  the  guilty  all  relations  with  the  Jews,  even  for  the  piu-pose  of  buying 
food.  And,  last  of  all,  the  most  terrible  consisted  in  solemidy  excluding  the 
accursed  from  all  communication  with  the  children  of  Israel,  and  in  abandon- 
ing him  to  God's  judgment.  (See  Buxtorf,  Leg.  Chald.)  Others  claim 
that  the  Mishna  agrees  with  the  Gospel  that  there  was  only  one  grade  of 
excommunication.    (See  GUdemeister,  Blendwerke  d.  Vtdgar.  Ration,    p.  10.) 

[264] 


BOOK  III]  THE  MAN  BORN  BLIND 

The  man  who  was  born  bhnd  is  therefore  summoned 
and  subjected  to  a  second  examination.  Despite  all  the 
art  of  the  Pharisees,  he  will  again  give  his  testimony,  each 
word  clearer  than  the  other,  and  in  his  unaffected  sim- 
plicity he  will  humiliate  those  who  hoped  to  triumph  by 
his  timidity  or  by  his  embarrassment. 

"Give  glory  to  God,"  ^^  they  say  to  him  with  whee- 
dling hypocrisy ;  in  other  words :  Retract  thy  blasphemy, 
wretched  man,  who  hast  dared  to  make  Jesus  a  prophet. 
"We  know  that  this  man  is  a  sinner."  Whence  do  they 
know  that?  Do  they  speak  according  to  their  theology, 
or  according  to  their  personal  impressions  and  the  self- 
interested  conclusions  which  they  have  just  reached?  The 
man  who  was  cured  troubles  himself  but  little  about  this, 
and,  interrupting  them  with  an  irony  which  judiciously 
places  the  fact  above  all  theological  disputes,  he  says :  "If 
He  be  a  sinner,  I  know  not ;  one  thing  I  know,  that  whereas 
I  was  blind,  now  I  see."  Nothing  could  be  clearer,  and  all 
discussion  is  superfluous.  The  Pharisees  perceive  it ;  they 
decide  then  to  return  to  the  incident  itself,  as  if  on  this 
point  the  examination  had  not  been  concluded  previously. 
"What  did  He  do  to  thee?  How  did  He  open  thine  eyes?" 
A  fresh  recital  of  the  event  will,  perhaps,  furnish  a  natural 
explanation  of  the  miracle  and  deliver  them  from  this  per-- 
plexing  difficulty.  But  the  man  perceives  their  bad  faith 
and,  indignant,  with  unexpected  boldness,  he  begins  to  rally 
them  bitterly:  "I  have  told  you  already,  and  you  have 
heard,"  he  exclaims,  "Why  would  you  hear  it  again?  Will 
you  also  become  His  disciples?"  This  was  more  than 
enough  to  drive  them  into  a  fury  which  they  had  till  now 
with  difficulty  restrained.      The  Pharisees  rose  up   in  a 

''  These  were  the  words  of  Josue  to  Achan  inviting  him  to  reveal  the  theft 
of  which  he  was  guilty.  (Jos.  vii,  19.)  In  /  Kiiigs  the  Philistines  are 
likewise  called  upon  to  repair  the  injury  done  to  Jehovah,  by  these  words ; 
"You  shall  give  glory  to  the  God  of  Israel." 

[265] 


LIFE   OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

mass  and  cursed  him  forthwith,  exclaiming:  "Be  thou  His 
disciple,  but  we  are  the  disciples  of  Moses.  We  know  that 
God  spoke  to  Moses,  but  as  to  this  Man,  we  know  not 
whence  He  is."  Thus  did  religious  passion  cause  them  to 
forget  that  no  one  ceased  to  be  a  disciple  of  Moses  by 
believing  in  the  Messiah  foretold  by  Moses ;  that  the  law 
of  Moses  has  but  one  object,  that  of  guiding  Israel  by 
the  hand  to  the  realisation  of  the  promises ;  and  that  the 
great  law-giver  of  the  desert  himself  proved  his  mission 
only  by  a  miracle,  as  Jesus  proves  His  to-day.  The  man 
born  blind  then  is  about  to  open  their  eyes  and  to  point  out 
to  them  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  be  a  doctor  in  Israel  in 
order  to  know  whence  Jesus  derives  His  mission.  "Why," 
said  he  ironically,  "herein  is  a  wonderful  thing,  that  you 
know  not  from  whence  He  Is,  and  He  hath  opened  my 
eyes."  To  know  whence  a  man  is  who  does  extraordinary 
things  would  seem  to  be  a  simple  matter.  One  cannot  be  a 
thaumaturgus  and  have  an  evil  origin.  "Now  we  know 
that  God  doth  not  hear  sinners,  but  if  a  man  be  a  server  of 
God,  and  doth  His  will,  him  He  heareth."  But  lo !  Jesus 
has  been  heard,  and  in  what  circumstances !  "From  the 
beginning  of  the  world  it  hath  not  been  heard  that  any 
man  hath  opened  the  eyes  of  one  born  bhnd."  But  this 
Man  has  just  done  so.  Plainly,  "unless  this  Man  were  of 
God  He  could  not  do  anything."  This  argument  could 
admit  of  no  other  reply  but  compliance  or  insult.  Insult 
is  their  preference.  Beyond  all  self-control  because  of 
their  humiliation  before  the  people,  the  Pharisees  cried  out : 
"Thou  wast  wholly  born  in  sins,  and  dost  thou  teach  us?" 
They  did  not  see  that  to  reproach  him  with  his  former 
blindness  as  proof  of  his  sins  was  first  of  all  to  acknowl- 
edge the  truth  of  the  miracle  which  they  sought  to  deny. 
They  violently  drove  him  out  of  the  Synagogue,  waiting 
till  later,  perhaps,  to  demand  his  legal  excommunication. 

[W6] 


BOOK  III]  THE  MAN  BORN  BLIND 

Jesus,  Who  had  fled  from  the  popular  enthusiasm  at  the 
time  of  the  miracle,  was,  nevertheless,  mindful  of  the  poor 
lamb  healed  by  Him,  but  maltreated  by  His  enemies.  This 
man  was  a  believer  of  a  special  class — in  his  soul  he  had 
faith  in  a  Prophet,  but  he  knew  not  who  the  Prophet  was. 
Never  having  seen  Him,  and  yet  constituting  himself  His 
defender,  at  the  risk  of  his  personal  comfort  and  even  of 
his  life,  he  deserved  to  meet  Him,  to  know  Him,  and  to  have 
Plim  for  his  Teacher.  Nascent  faith,  without  a  well- 
defined  object  to  which  it  may  attach  itself,  soon  feels  its 
glow  becoming  dim ;  it  recoils  upon  itself  and  dies.  Jesus 
makes  no  delay  in  seeking  the  mendicant,  and,  having  found 
him.  He  says  to  him :  "Dost  thou  believe  in  the  Son  of  God .'"' 
In  other  words :  "Hast  thou  faith  in  the  mission  of  the 
Man  Whom  thou  hast  just  defended  before  the  Pharisees.'"' 
He  understood  it  all,  and,  not  even  stopping  to  formulate 
an  affirmative  reply,  he  at  once  says:  "Who  is  He,  Lord, 
that  I  may  believe  in  Him.'"'  The  voice  which  he  recog- 
nises, the  strange  question  that  is  put  to  him,  the  interior 
grace  that  lifts  up  his  soul,  enliven  him  with  hope  and 
love.  He  awaits  with  impatience  the  word  that  is  to  come 
from  the  lips  of  his  questioner,  he  divines  it,  and  accepts  it 
in  advance.  "Thou  hast  both  seen  Him,"  says  Jesus,  "and 
it  is  He  that  talketh  with  thee."  And  the  man,  falling 
prostrate  in  the  attitude  of  an  adorer,^*  speaks  aloud  this 
brief  but  energetic  profession  of  faith:  "I  believe.  Lord." 
Jesus  then  sums  up  the  moral  lesson  which  was  the  outcome 
of  this  incident,  and  adds :  "For  judgment  I  am  come  into 
this  world,  that  they  who  see  not  may  see,  and  they  who 
see  may  become  blind."  Not  that  Providence  has  fatally 
decreed  such  a  sentence,  separating  mankind  into  two  parts, 
that  of  believers  and  that  of  the  obstinate  in  error ;  but  that 

**  In  St.  John  the  verb  irpocrKwuv  is  always  understood  as  meaning  the 
adoration  rendered  to  God.    Thus,  iv,  20,  and  xii,  20. 

[267] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

mankind  itself  freely  divides  itself  into  two  great  families, 
one  of  which  hearkens  to  the  call  of  God,  while  the  other 
follows  the  voice  of  its  own  passions.  The  ignorant,  the 
little  children,  the  people  who  know  not  the  law,  shall 
accept  enthusiastically  and  gratefully  the  first  rays  of  di- 
vine lightj  and  shall  issue  thus  from  the  dense  darkness 
wherein  the  malice  of  centuries  had  imprisoned  them.  The 
wise,  the  intelligent,  the  proud,  whose  mouths  open  to  say 
unceasingly:  "We  know,"  just  as  we  have  heard  them 
but  a  moment  ago,  shall  reject,  proud  of  their  incomplete 
or  even  entirely  false  doctrine,  the  divine  manifestation  of 
the  truth,  and  they  who  were  seers  in  the  midst  of  the 
blind,  shall  become  blind  in  the  midst  of  seers. 

This  sentence  was  fulfilled  in  a  terrible  manner  first  in 
Israel,  where  the  princes  of  science,  shutting  themselves  up 
with  their  proud  illusions,  yielded  the  sceptre  to  a  few  poor 
Galileans  whose  humility  transformed  them  into  veritable 
sages.  It  was  perpetuated  then  in  the  world,  where  Israel 
sat  like  a  poor  blind  wretch,  while  all  the  Gentiles,  born 
in  darkness,  advanced  into  full  light.  It  is  yet  fulfilled 
every  day  among  ourselves,  when  the  humble  mount  up  in 
their  simple  faith  toward  perfection  in  the  moral  life 
and  to  the  reward  of  eternity,  while  the  strong,  puffed 
up  by  their  knowledge,  fall  asleep  amid  the  follies  of  the 
present  life  and  tumble  like  blind  men  into  the  darkness 
of  eternity. 

Some  Pharisees,  who  were  near  by,  heard  the  foregoing 
words  of  Jesus  and  the  mendicant  and  were  off^ended. 
They  asked  Him  ironically:  "Are  we  also  blind.'"'  And 
Jesus,  deeply  pained,  replied,  in  a  tone  that  should  have 
reached  their  souls:  "If  you  were  blind,  you  should  not 
have  sin."  He  regrets  that  they  are  not  blind,  either  be- 
cause their  sin  would  have  been  removed,  like  that  of  all 
the  blind  whom  He  is  to  lead  back  to  light,  or  because  their 

[268] 


BOOK  III]  THE  MAN   BORN  BLIND 

ignorance  might  have  served  as  an  excuse.    "But  now  you 
say,  We  see.    Your  sin  remaineth." 

Pride,  by  the  very  fact  that  it  pretends  to  possess  and 
to  see  the  truth,  checks  every  effort  to  seek  it  or  even 
to  accept  it  when  proposed.  The  most  difficult  disease  to 
cure  is  certainly  the  disease  of  that  man  who  will  not  be- 
lieve that  he  is  ill  and  refuses  to  be  treated.  In  such 
conditions  the  infirmity  becomes  incurable,  and  the  sin  is 
the  graver  since  the  sinner  had  sufficient  intelligence  to 
discern  its  malice  and  its  consequences. 


[269] 


CHAPTER    VII 
THE   CHRIST  AND   HIS   FLOCK 

Jesus  Employs  a  Double  Allegory:  He  Is  the  Door 
OF  the  Fold  and  at  the  Same  Time  the  Good  Shep- 
herd OF  THE  Flock — The  Door  Is  for  True  Shep- 
herds Who  Come  There  to  Call  the  Sheep — The 
Sheep  Follow  Them — Whosoever  Enters  by  Any 
Other  Way  Is  a  Robber,  and  the  Flock  Heeds  Him 
Not — The  Good  Shepherd  Is  Distinguished  from 
the  Mercenary  by  His  Devotion  to  His  Flock — 
The  Two  Flocks  Which  the  Great  Shepherd  Is  to 
Unite.     (St.  John  x,  1-21.) 

The  brutal  violence  with  which  the  Pharisees  had 
treated  the  man  born  blind  was  but  one  of  the  least  of 
the  abuses  of  power  to  which  this  proud  sect  lent  itself 
in  its  dealings  with  the  common  people.  Nothing  was 
better  calculated  to  sadden  the  Master's  soul  than  this 
woful  spectacle  of  hypocrisy  obtruding  itself  in  the 
name  of  virtue,  of  false  piety  silencing  every  sentiment 
of  toleration,  of  selfishness  assuming  the  place  of  gen- 
erous devotion.  The  Messianic  characteristics,  as  set 
forth  in  Ezechiel  and  in  Zacharias,^  came  before  His 
mind.     He  compared  the  malice  of  the  false  shepherds  of 

'  Ezech.  xxxiv ;  Zach.  xi. 

[270] 


BOOK  III]  CHRIST  AND   HIS   FLOCK 

Israel  with  the  infinite  kindness  that  He  felt  in  His  own 
heart,  and  this  comparison  of  their  usurped  despotism 
and  His  legitimate  mission  inspired  Him  to  draw  a  de- 
lightful similitude  on  the  shepherd  and  his  flock  which 
St.  John  has  preserved  for  us.  It  is  indeed  the  indignant 
voice  of  divine  charity  that  speaks.  The  tenderest  com- 
parisons, the  liveliest  images  are  employed  to  express  the 
^Master's  thought  in  the  most  lovable  language.  It  was 
probably  late  in  the  day,  and  it  may  be  that  the  sight  of 
the  flocks  returning  from  the  fields  by  the  road  from 
Bethany,  led  by  the  shepherds  beneath  the  walls  of  the 
city,  if  it  had  not  inspired  His  thought,  at  least  rendered 
His  figures  more  lively  in  the  eyes  of  His  listeners.  Jesus 
began  with  solemnity,  saying:  "Amen,  amen,  I  say  to 
you,  he  that  entereth  not  by  the  door  into  the  sheepfold, 
but  climbeth  up  another  way,  the  same  is  a  thief  and  a 
robber." 

It  is  the  beginning  of  an  allegory.^  To  understand  it 
well,  we  must  remember  that  in  the  Orient  the  sheepfold 
is  not  a  building  entirely  roofed  and  walled  in  like  a  house, 
but  simply  an  enclosure  surrounded  with  high  palings  or 
with  a  poorly  built  wall  to  protect  the  sheep  from  the 
teeth  of  wild  beasts.  In  this  are  penned  up  several  flocks, 
and  one  of  the  shepherds  stays  there,  his  duty  being  care- 
fully to  lock  the  door  on  the  inside.  He  watches  for  the 
attacks  of  wolves  or  of  marauders  during  the  night. 
Early  in  the  morning  each  shepherd  comes  in  turn  and 
raps  on  the  door.  He  is  admitted;  he  calls  his  flock  to- 
gether, and  the  flock,  knowing  his  voice,  follows  him  to 
the  neighbouring  pastures. 

'  An  allegory  differs  from  a  parable  in  that  it  is  not  a  complete  story  with 
its  denouement,  but  only  an  image  which,  without  having  any  consistency, 
slightly  glosses  over  the  truth  that  is  developed  and  brings  out  its  principal 
points.  As  M.  Godet  well  says,  it  is  a  transparency,  whereas  a  parable  is  a 
tableau. 

[271] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [pakt  second 

Jesus  therefore  likens  the  people  of  God  to  a  flock  of 
sheep.  Jehovah,  by  the  mouth  of  Ezechiel,^  had  prom- 
ised to  deliver  His  children  from  the  tyranny  of  bad 
shepherds,  saying:  "And  you,  My  flocks,  the  flocks  of  My 
pasture,  are  men,  and  I  am  the  Lord  your  God."  The 
enclosure  or  wall  of  the  sheepfold  is  the  spiritual  bound- 
ary which,  under  diff'erent  forms,  separates  strangers 
and  enemies  from  the  true  children  of  the  Kingdom. 
There  is  a  gate  that  leads  into  the  fold,  namely,  divine 
vocation.  No  shepherd  can  claim  any  portion  of  the 
sheep,  unless  he  is  chosen,  authorised,  sent  by  the  Father 
of  the  family,  the  sole  Master  of  the  flock.  He  who  comes 
unwelcomed  by  the  Father,  takes  care  not  to  present  him- 
self at  the  door ;  he  would  not  be  allowed  to  enter.  He 
is  therefore  driven  to  employ  craft  or  violence  to  pene- 
trate the  enclosing  wall.  Thus  he  forces  himself  into  the 
midst  of  the  flock  and  brings  with  him  desolation  and 
death.  Such  is  the  history  of  the  Pharisees,  who,  by 
hypocrisy  and  daring,  exercise  their  despotic  authority 
over  the  people  of  God  without  having  been  delegated  by 
the  Master  of  the  sheep.  Having  no  divine  mission — 
their  works  prove  it  sufficiently — they  ravage  the  fold  in 
the  interests  of  their  pride,  their  prejudices,  and  their 
selfishness.  Their  malice  knows  no  limits.  Not  only  do 
they  eagerly  sow  the  most  detestable  doctrines,  but  they 
multiply  their  calumnies  in  order  to  prevent  Israel  from 
reaching  the  truth.  Did  they  not,  only  a  moment  ago, 
go  so  far  as  to  hurl  a  threat  of  excommunication  against 
any  who  should  dare  to  obey  the  word  of  the  only  true 
Shepherd,  and  venture  to  live  beneath  His  staffs.'' 

"But  he  that  entereth  in  by  the  door  is  the  shepherd 
of  the  sheep ;  to  him  the  porter  openeth,  and  the  sheep 
hear  his  voice."  The  true  shepherd  openly  announces  his 
'  Ezech.  xxxiv,  31. 

[272] 


BOOK  III]  CHRIST  AND  HIS  FLOCK 

coming;  he  knows  his  rights.  The  guardian  of  the  fold 
knows  him  and  gives  him  free  passage.  This  guardian  is 
God  Himself , 'Who,  in  the  words  of  Scripture,'*  opens  to 
the  Gentiles  the  door  of  faith  and  lets  them  enter ;  God 
to  Whom  it  belongs  to  welcome  and  to  recognise  the 
workmen  loyally  desirous  of  pasturing  the  flock  of  the 
elect.  This  right  of  guarding  the  door  can  be  delegated 
to  those  who  will  be  charged  with  the  direction  of  the 
Church.  Enlightened  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  they  will  watch 
attentively  to  see  if  the  shepherd  who  presents  himself 
bears  the  authentic  marks  of  sincerity  and  goodness 
without  which  he  may  not  pass,  and,  in  the  name  of  God, 
they  will  open  the  door  to  some  because  of  their  zeal  and 
close  it  upon  others  because  of  their  unworthiness.  If 
the  authorised  representatives  of  the  Synagogue  had  read 
the  prophets  intelligently,  and  if  they  had  taken  the  true 
picture  of  the  Messiah  presented  by  them  and  compared 
it  with  Jesus,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  young  Prophet 
of  Nazareth  would  have  seemed  to  them  to  be  worthy  of 
admittance  within  the  fold.  But,  as  they  were  unequal 
to  their  task  and  forgetful  of  their  duty,  God  deputed 
John  the  Baptist,^  the  successor  of  the  prophets  and 
greater  than  any  of  them.  He,  the  official  porter  of 
Judaism,  knew  the  true  Shepherd  by  the  signs  which  the 
Holy  Spirit  had  given,  and,  solemnly  opening  the  door 
before  Him,  he  introduced  Him  into  the  midst  of  Israel 
to  select  and  to  organise  the  new  people  of  God. 

Moreover,  the  Good  Shepherd  Is  known  not  only  by  the 
porter,  but  also  by  the  sheep,  who  distinguish  His  voice. 
For  the  soul  has  received  a  special  sense,  as  It  were,  for 
recognising  the  true  Shepherd;  It  has  an  echo  that  re- 
plies at  once  to  His  words.  "And  He  calleth  His  own 
sheep  by  name  and  leadeth  them  out."  For  one  to  call 
*  Acts  xiv,  26.  ^  St.  John  i,  6  and  7. 

[273] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

another  by  his  name  proves  that  he  knows  him  in  his  in- 
dividuahty  and  in  his  private  hf e ;  it  reminds  him  that 
he  distinguishes  him  from  others,  and  lets  him  know  that 
he  loves  him  or  that  he  has  loved  him.  This  was  the  secret 
of  the  profound  emotion  that  shook  Magdalen,  the  lost 
lamb  brought  back  to  the  fold,  when  Jesus  called  her  by 
name  on  the  morning  of  the  Resurrection.  In  that  name 
the  Master  had  with  a  single  word  told  the  sinner's  past 
life  and  His  own  mercy. 

If  the  fold  is  Judaism,  it  is  evident  that  Jesus  has 
already  begun  to  call  His  sheep  to  Him  by  name.  An- 
drew, John,  Peter,  Philip,  Nathaniel,  and  all  the  disciples 
have  heard  His  voice.  Jesus  has  driven  them  out  from 
the  law  of  Moses,  which  has  completed  its  allotted  time, 
to  guide  them  to  the  pastures  of  the  Messianic  Kingdom. 
This  power  of  attraction  in  His  voice  is  easily  explained 
when  we  recall  that  as  the  Divine  Word  He  enlightens 
every  man  here  below. ^  Hence  between  Him  and  the 
human  soul  there  is  a  prearranged  harmony  by  which  He 
is  sure  to  be  recognised  at  the  first  call. 

"And  when  He  hath  let  out  His  own  sheep.  He  goeth 
before  them,  and  the  sheep  follow  Him,  because  they  know 
His  voice."  In  the  fold  He  was  behind  them  to  urge  them 
on,  not  wishing  to  neglect  any.  But,  once  outside.  He  goes 
ahead  to  guide  them,  to  defend  them  against  any  danger, 
to  find  for  them  the  best  pastures.  Jesus  has  done  this 
by  conducting  His  little  flock,  recently  out  from  the  nar- 
row barriers  of  Judaism,  along  the  broad  ways  of  truth, 
of  justice,  and  of  heroism;  by  protecting  against  ravish- 
ing wolves  those  whom  He  has  initiated  into  His  life  and 
shielded  with  His  grace.  "But  a  stranger  they  follow 
not,  but  fly  from  him,  because  they  know  not  the  voice 
of  strangers."  This  is  well  for  the  triumph  of  the  Gos- 
« St.  John  i,  4,  9. 

[274] 


BOOK  III]  CHRIST  AND  HIS  FLOCK 

pel,  since  Pharisees  are  not  lacking  to  lead  the  flock  astray 
and  to  steal  it  from  the  true  Shepherd.  But  as  the  voice 
of  the  enemy  differs  greatly  from  that  of  the  Master,  the 
flock,  knowing  it,  is  sure  to  turn  a  deaf  ear  and  to  let  him 
call  in  vain. 

His  hearers,  says  the  Evangelist,  understood  not  the 
meaning  of  this  similitude.  Besides,  it  was  to  the  interest 
of  the  majority  of  them  not  to  inquire  as  to  its  applica- 
tion, since  it  was  to  them  that  it  referred  as  robbers  and 
brigands.  Jesus  took  pains  to  explain  its  principal  points 
by  repeating  it  in  a  new  and  more  complete  form.  He 
is  the  Door  of  the  fold  and  the  Good  Shepherd,  since  He 
is  Redeemer  and  King.  In  His  sacrifice  He  has  consti- 
tuted Himself  the  Door  by  which  every  sinner  must  enter 
into  the  fold  of  the  elect.  By  His  teaching.  His  exam- 
ple, His  grace  ever  active  though  secret,  He  is  the  Shep- 
herd guiding  His  flock.  It  is  only  by  identifying  one's 
self  with  Him  that  one  may  become  a  child  of  God,  and 
it  is  only  by  taking  one's  place  beneath  His  staff  that  one 
may  remain  such. 

"Amen,  amen,  I  say  to  you,  I  am  the  Door  of  the 
sheep,"  says  Jesus.  No  one,  in  the  past,  has  truly  be- 
come part  of  Israel  but  by  Christ.  The  patriarchs,  the 
prophets,  and  all  the  true  sons  of  Abraham  advanced  by 
faith  toward  that  Door  which  they  hailed  in  future  ages 
as  their  sole  hope.  The  New  Law  shall  know  no  other 
means  of  salvation.  There  never  has  been  nor  shall  there 
ever  be  any  other  passage  than  this  one  leading  to  the 
Kingdom  of  God.  "All  others,  as  many  as  have  come 
before  Me,"  declares  the  Master,^  "are  thieves  and  rob- 

'  The  Greek  text,  which  has  wdfrfs  S<roi  ^\8ov  irph  i/wv,  has  been  singu- 
larly twisted  about  by  commentators.  It  appears,  at  first  glance,  to  be 
extremely  severe,  since  it  seems  to  say  that  all  who  have  come  before  Jesus, 
even  Moses  and  the  prophets,  were  thieves  and  robbers.  On  this  account 
several  manuscripts,  the  Sinaiticus  and  others,  have  suppressed  irph  ifutv,  in 

[275] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [pakt  second 

bers."  Such  were  Judas  the  Gaulonite,  or  the  GaHlean, 
Sadoc  the  Pharisee,  and  many  others,  who  played  a  dis- 
astrous part  in  Israel.^  Such  are,  above  all,  the  Phari- 
sees, who  have  usurped  a  scandalous  influence  over  the 
people,  and  whom  He  shall  ere  long  indignantly  reproach 
for  having  closed  the  door  of  the  Heavenly  Kingdom  upon 
the  sheep  of  Israel.  But  it  is  not  enough  for  their  pride 
to  arrogate  to  themselves  the  rights  of  the  Messiah,  to 
set  themselves  up  as  the  inevitable  door  of  the  Kingdom 
of  Heaven  by  the  monopoly  of  knowledge,  of  authority,  of 
high  liturgical  functions ;  they  are  endeavouring,  more- 
over, to  suppress  by  violence  the  only  true  Door,  as  the 
unfaithful  labourers  contemplated  killing  the  son  of  the 
master  of  the  vineyard  in  order  to  receive  his  heritage 
and  his  prerogatives.  "And  the  sheep  heard  them  not." 
The  man  born  blind  has  just  given  a  proof  of  this.  He 
has  left  the  false  shepherds,  who  seek  to  profit  by  the 
people,  and  has  hurried  to  the  true  Shepherd  to  hail  Him 
as  Lord  and  Son  of  God.  Following  his  example,  the  long- 
abused  people  should  rid  themselves  of  their  deceivers. 
"I  am  the  Door,"  says  Jesus.  "By  Me,  if  any  man  enter 
in,  he  shall  be  saved,  and  he  shall  go  in  and  go  out  and 
shall  find  pastures." 

The  faithful  follower  of  Jesus  is  assured,  in  the  highest 

order  to  deprive  the  Manicheans  of  an  argument  that  would  tend  to  diminish 
the  authority  of  the  Old  Testament.  Some  critics  propose  to  assign  to  irp6 
the  meaning  of  x'»P^^y  "  separate  from  Me,"  or  again  that  of  avri"  in  My 
place."  (See  Euripides,  Alcmene,  466.)  But  the  simplest  way  is  to  under- 
stand what  is  contained  in  the  preceding  verse,  and  to  say :  "  All  others,  who 
have  come  as  Door,  before  Me,"  etc. 

*  Josephus  {Antiq.,  xviii,  1)  tells  that  after  the  banishment  of  Archelaus 
to  Vienna  (Quirinius  having  taken  the  census  of  Judea,  henceforth  a  Roman 

grovince) ,  Judas  the  Gaulonite,  of  the  city  of  Gamala,  joined  with  Sadoc  the 
harisee  and  made  an  attempt  to  arouse  the  people  in  behalf  of  national 
liberty.  They  had  many  followers;  in  Judea  they  formed  a  fourth  sect, 
whose  spirit  of  political  independence  and  respect  for  Pharisaical  observances 
seem  to  have  constituted  their  distinctive  marks.  They  perished  miserably 
after  some  awful  struggles. 

[276] 


BOOK  III]  CHRIST  AND  HIS  FLOCK 

degree,  of  his  personal  dignity,  his  independence,  and  his 
hfe.  "For,"  He  adds,  "the  thief  cometh  not  but  for  to 
steal,  and  to  kill,  and  to  destroy.  I  am  come  that  they 
may  have  life  and  may  have  it  more  abundantly."  He 
has  but  one  thought,  that  of  securing  peace  for  the  flock 
in  a  safe  resort,  and  abundant  pastures  when  it  is  ready 
to  be  led  out.  The  Pharisees,  by  their  arts,  have  learned 
only  to  pillage  it.  They  corrupt  it  by  their  false  doc- 
trines, their  pride,  and  their  cupidity,  and  they  can  only 
lead  it  fatally  to  eternal  damnation.  "I  am  the  Good 
Shepherd,"  He  says  once  more,  fully  conscious  that  He 
realises  the  ideal  set  up  by  the  prophets.  When,  by  the 
mouth  of  Ezechiel,^  God  promised  to  save  His  flock  from 
the  rapacity  of  false  shepherds  by  raising  up  the  true 
Shepherd,  His  servant  David,  it  was  of  Him  He  thought. 
For  Jesus  the  Son  of  Jehovah,  the  supreme  Shepherd  of 
Israel,^ ^  and  of  David  the  herdsman  of  the  mountains, 
whom  God  made  the  glorious  shepherd  of  His  people,^^ 
has,  in  truth,  every  right  to  be  the  Shepherd  par  ex- 
cellence, and  none  can  contest  this  His  prerogative  as 
Messiah. 

Besides,  to  prove  that  it  is  truly  His,  He  has  only  to 
remind  His  hearers  of  the  distinctive  mark  of  the  true 
shepherd,  which  is  love  for  his  flock  even  to  the  sacrifice 
of  himself.  "The  Good  Shepherd  giveth^^  jjis  life  for 
His  sheep.  But  the  hireling,  and  he  that  is  not  the  shep- 
herd, whose  own  the  sheep  are  not,  seeth  the  wolf  coming 
and  leaveth  the  sheep  and  flieth;  and  the  wolf  catcheth 
and  scattereth  the  sheep;  and  the  hirehng  flieth  because 
he  is  a  hireling,  and  he  hath  no  care  for  the  sheep."  How 
easily  recognisable,  by  these  traits  rapidly  reviewed,  are 

^Ezech.  xxxiv,  23.  ^°Ps.  xxii;  Isa.  xl,  10,  etc.  "7/  Kings  vii,  8. 

*^  In  this  expression  there  is  evndently  an  allusion  to  those  words  of  the 

Erophecy  of  Isaias  (Iviii,  10)  on  the  Saviour's  passion:  "If  he  lay  down  his 
fe  for  sin,"  etc. 

[277] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

these  chief -priests  who,  for  so  long,  though  not  sharing 
in  the  vices  or  ambitions  or  superstitious  practices  of  the 
Pharisees,  yet  by  their  weakness  and  neglect  have  allowed 
the  flock  of  Israel  to  be  devoured !  Great  in  nothing,  gen- 
erous in  nothing,  with  souls  in  no  wise  paternal,  despite 
the  legitimacy  and  the  holiness  of  their  mission  they  have 
come  to  believe  that  they  are  shepherds  not  for  the  sheep, 
but  for  themselves.  Essentially  selfish,  they  seek  above  all 
else  their  human  interests.  How  bright,  on  the  contrary, 
shines  upon  Jesus'  brow  that  characteristic  sign  of  the 
Good  Shepherd,  devoted  love!  "I  know  Mine,"  He  says, 
"and  Mine  know  Me;  as  the  Father  knoweth  Me  and  I 
know  the  Father."  What  intimacy  in  the  relations  be- 
tween the  Shepherd  and  His  sheep !  They  are  like  ^^ 
those  that  unite  the  Father  and  the  Son.  Hence  nothing 
is  too  dear  for  one  who  loves  and  knows  himself  to  be 
loved  in  such  manner.  "And  I  lay  down  My  life  for  My 
sheep."  What  heroism!  Jesus  consents  not  only  to  feed 
His  sheep  with  His  word,  but  to  defend  them  against  the 
ravenous  wolf ;  and  since  a  sacrifice  is  demanded  to  redeem 
them  in  solemn  expiation,  He  offers  Himself  to  satiate 
the  hatred  of  the  enemy.  From  His  death  He  sees  issu- 
ing the  salvation  of  the  world,  and  that  is  sufficient  to 
impel  Him  joyfully  to  the  sacrifice. 

By  a  natural  transition,  the  thought  of  sacrifice  then 
takes  hold  upon  the  Saviour's  soul,  and  He  contemplates 
with  pleasure  its  consoling  results.  "And  other  sheep  I 
have,"  He  says,  "that  are  not  of  this  fold ;  them  also  I 
must  bring,  and  they  shall  hear  My  voice,  and  there  shall 
be  one  fold  and  one  Shepherd."  Israel  was  the  first  called, 
but  not  the  only  one,  and,  besides  Israel,  there  wanders  an 
immense  flock  looking  for  a  shepherd.     It  is  the  flock  of 

*^  They  are  of  the  same  order,  the  same  nature,  not  simply  comparable. 
The  text  has  KaOds,  not  wairtp. 

[  278  ] 


BOOK  III]  CHRIST  AND  HIS  FLOCK 

the  Gentiles.  Instinctively  they  seek  the  true  God  and 
true  justice.  The  Word  enlightens  every  man  that  comes 
into  the  world,  and  leads  him  toward  revelation.  If  all 
mankind  does  not  enter  within  the  fold  it  is  certain,  never- 
theless, that  all  were  invited  there.  Hence  at  the  Shep- 
herd's first  loving  call,  all  men  of  goodwill  shall  know  His 
voice,  for  they  have  long  awaited  this  supreme  summons. 
A  sign,  that  of  the  cross,  shall  suffice  to  gather  them  in 
a  single  flock.  Then  they  shall  come,  notwithstanding 
past  hostilities,  in  the  Psalmist's  ^^  words,  to  join  hands 
on  Mount  Sion,  declaring  that  they  are  the  Lord's,^ ^  all 
together  speaking  the  language  of  Chanaan,^®  and  emu- 
lating one  another  in  the  repetition  of  the  words :  "Come, 
let  us  go  up  to  the  mountain  of  the  Lord,  and  to  the 
house  of  the  God  of  Jacob ;  and  He  will  teach  us  of 
His  ways,  and  we  will  walk  in  His  path ;  for  the  law 
shall  go  forth  out  of  Sion,  and  the  word  of  the  Lord  out 
of  Jersualem."  ^^  According  to  another  saying  of  the 
Saviour  Himself,  they  "shall  come  from  the  east  and  the 
west,  and  shall  sit  down  with  Abraham  and  Isaac  and 
Jacob  in  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven."  ^^  "There  shall  be 
but  one  flock  and  one  Shepherd."  ^^ 

In  view  of  the  salvation  that  Jesus  is  preparing  for 
mankind  by  His  expiation,  and  of  the  divine  glory  that 
shall  result  therefrom,  the  Father  loves  the  Son,  as  the 
master  loves  the  workman  who  devotes  himself  to  the  task 
which  he  was  free  to  decline.  For  it  would  be  a  mistake 
to  think  that  the  Good  Shepherd  was  fatally  doomed  to 
become  the  victim  of  devouring  wolves.  No ;  if  He  dies, 
it  is  because  He  wills  it.  No  one  shall  take  His  life;  He 
will  give  it  Himself  in  His  own  time,  according  to  His 

"  Ps.  xxxvi.  ''  Isa.  xHv,  5.  "  Ibid.,  xix,  18. 

"  Mich,  iv,  2.  "  St.  Matt,  viii,  11. 

"  This  thesis  is  finely  developed  by  St.  Paul,  Ephes.  ii,  11-22. 

[279] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [pabt  second 

own  good  pleasure ;  and,  the  better  to  prove  that  He  alone 
is  Master  of  His  existence,  He  shall  again  resume  it  after 
having  sacrificed  it.  He  will  die  because  He  knows  the 
desires  of  His  Father  and  the  demands  of  eternal  justice. 
He  will  rise  again  in  obedience  once  more  to  the  divine 
decree  that  requires  in  His  glorification  the  completion 
of  the  work  of  Redemption.  For  this  work  ends  not  at 
His  death,  it  continues  throughout  the  ages.  That  is  why 
Jesus  follows  the  will  of  the  J'ather  in  His  resurrection 
as  well  as  in  His  death.  "Therefore  doth  My  Father  love 
]\Ie,"  He  concludes,  "because  I  lay  down  My  life  that  I 
may  take  it  again.  No  man  taketh  it  away  from  Me,  but 
I  lay  it  down  of  Myself ;  and  I  have  power  to  lay  it  down ; 
and  I  have  power  to  take  it  up  again.  This  commandment 
have  I  received  of  My  Father."  So,  then,  it  is  vain  for 
the  Pharisees  to  wish  to  make  Him  the  sport  of  their 
fury.  He  alone  is  Master  of  Himself,  under  the  loving 
eye  of  the  Father  Who  sent  Him. 

These  words,  which  for  some  were  very  obscure,  for 
others  very  aggressive,  and  which  only  a  few  received 
with  satisfaction,  again  divided  the  multitude  into  two 
factions.  Again  the  most  conflicting  judgments  were 
formed.  Many  exclaimed :  "He  hath  a  devil,  and  is  mad ; 
why  hear  you  Him?"  Others,  calmer,  replied:  "These  are 
not  the  words  of  one  that  hath  a  devil.  Can  a  devil  open 
the  eyes  of  the  blind?" 

Jesus  left  them  to  discuss  His  words  and  His  works, 
and  prepared  to  quit  the  Holy  City  for  the  present. 


[280] 


CHAPTER    VIII 
JESUS   RETURNS   INTO   GALILEE 

Why  It  Is  Probable  that  Jesus,  After  the  Feast  of 
Tabernacles,  Returned  at  Once  Into  Galilee — 
His  Task  There,  and  What  Necessitated  His  Ab- 
sence FROM  Jerusalem — Different  Impressions  at 
Capharnaum. 

If  the  brethren  of  Jesus  had  followed  the  intricacies  of 
the  struggle  which  had  just  begun  in  Jerusalem,  they 
must  have  thought  that  at  last  their  relative  had  mani- 
fested Himself  to  the  world  in  a  manner  probably  exceed- 
ing their  fondest  desires.  What  He  had  so  long  forbidden 
even  to  be  whispered  in  Galilee,  that  He  was  the  Messiah, 
the  Son  of  God,  He  had  now  declared  in  the  most  distinct 
terms  before  the  hierarchical  party.  Hence  the  terrible 
storm  which  had  gathered  above  His  head,  and  out  of  which, 
it  was  easy  to  see,  would  shortly  come  some  great  and 
dire  catastrophe.  Scribes,  Pharisees,  Elders  of  the  peo- 
ple, Chief-Priests,  the  Sanhedrim,  all  had  risen  up  against 
the  young  Prophet  of  Nazareth  Whose  blasphemous  claims 
went  so  far  as  to  declare  Him  to  be  the  Christ.  For,  after 
all,  to  call  Himself  the  Shepherd  of  Israel,  the  Light  of 
the  world,  the  Fountain  of  living  water  springing  up  to 
quench  the  thirst,  and  cleanse  the  stains  of  humanity ;  to 

[281  ] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

cry  out,  "I  am  He,  and  he  who  beheveth  not  in  Me,  shall 
not  have  life  in  him,"  was  plain  enough  to  those  who  cared 
to  understand.  Hardly  did  those  few  simple  souls — whom 
the  healing  of  the  blind  man  and  the  sublime  discourses 
which  followed  had  drawn  to  admiration  without  under- 
standing— dare  to  take  sides  with  Him  against  Whom  the 
great  majority  inveighed  and  Whom  they  wished  to  sup- 
press. These  few  partisans,  nearly  all  strangers  in  Jeru- 
salem, w^ere  less  sceptical  and  excitable  than  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  Holy  City.  Galileans  for  the  most  part,  they 
were  instinctively  inclined  to  defend  their  compatriot. 
But  they  could  not  remain  long  in  Judea  once  the  Pasch 
was  over.  Jesus,  knowing  that  with  them  would  disappear 
the  last  human  element  that  protected  Him  against  His 
enemies,  hastened  to  set  out  on  His  return  journey  to 
Capharnaum,  where  the  hour  in  which  His  supreme  resolve 
was  to  be  taken,  seemed  to  have  struck.  St.  John,  it  is 
true,  does  not  mention  this  return  to  Galilee,  but  here,  no 
more  than  elsewhere,  the  silence  of  this  Evangelist  need 
offer  no  real  difficulty.  The  rapidity,  the  suddenness,  the 
mystery,  which,  according  to  him,  characterised  the  jour- 
ney of  Jesus  to  Jerusalem,  clearly  showed  that  the  Master 
had  not  left  the  shores  of  the  lake  definitively,  and  that 
He  would  return  thither,  after  a  brief  delay,  to  prepare 
for  His  final  and  official  departure.  And  since  Galilee 
was  His  own  country.  His  home,  now  that  He  had  to  leave 
Jerusalem,  after  His  public  manifestation,  would  He  not 
naturally  take  refuge  there.''  The  Evangelist  supposes  it 
to  be  so  natural  that,  when  Jesus  does  not  return  to  Galilee 
after  the  feast  of  the  Dedication,  he  makes  note  of  it. 
Making  Him  then  return  beyond  the  Jordan,  he  shows  that 
He  had  been  there  previously.  But  He  was  there  pre- 
cisely because  He  had  left  Galilee  to  evangehse,  in  passing, 
the  whole  country,  toward  Judea,  by  the  ordinary  route 

[282] 


BOOK  III]     JESUS   RETURNS  INTO   GALILEE 

of  Peraea.^  In  all  probability,  Jesus'  return,  like  His 
departure,  took  place  without  any  important  stops  or  any 
attempt  to  evangelise  the  people  by  the  way.  The  Master, 
having  openly  accepted  the  battle,  could  not  but  be  impa- 
tient to  pursue  the  struggle,  by  placing  Himself  once  more 
at  the  head  of  His  followers.  Not  that  He  considered  His 
disciples  as  yet  fitted  for  a  serious  engagement — He  knew 

'  In  previous  editions  we  have  identified  the  journey  of  Jesus  at  the  feast 
of  Tabernacles  with  His  final  departure  from  Galilee,  supposing,  in  common 
with  many  other  exegetes,  that,  after  the  feast,  Jesus  had  remained  in  Judea, 
not  in  Jerusalem,  where  the  hatred  of  His  enemies  might  have  served  Him 
some  bad  turn,  but  with  friends  either  at  Bethany  or  in  Persea.  From  there 
He  could  have  come  for  the  second  time  into  the  Holy  City,  at  the  feast  of 
the  Dedication,  and  then  return  to  where  He  had  been  before  {a.irrj\8(v  iriKiv 
iTfpav  rov  'lopSdt/ov),  and  continue  His  ministry  until  the  resurrection  of  I^aza- 
rus.  Then  came  the  retreat  to  Ephrem,  imtil  the  moment  when,  rejoining  the 
Galilean  caravans.  He  went  up  with  them  to  the  Passover — to  die.  Sub- 
sequent reflection  on  this  difiicult  question  of  concordance  has  led  us  to 
change  our  former  opinion.  It  seems,  in  truth,  impossible  to  look  upon  as 
one  and  the  same  event  the  journey  spoken  of  in  St.  John  vii,  10,  and 
that  in  St.  Luke  ix,  51,  the  only  one  mentioned  by  the  Synoptics.  Whereas 
in  St.  John  the  journey  was,  so  to  speak,  undertaken  and  made  in  such 
haste  and  so  secretly  {oh  <paufpws,  dXA.'  ws  iv  -KpxnrrSi),  that  Jesus  appeared 
suddenly  in  the  midst  of  the  feast,  that  mentioned  by  St.  Luke  seems  to  have 
been  arranged  with  a  certain  solemnity ;  He  sets  His  face,  looking  at  the 
sacrifice  to  which  He  advances;  He  sends  messengers  ahead  to  prepare  His 
way  (airecTTeiA.ej'  ayyt\ovs  irph  irpoffdiirov  ahrov);  He  organises  the  seventy  dis- 
ciples (x,  1),  evangelises  the  towns  and  villages,  draws  multitudes  after  Him 
(xiv,  25).  We  conclude,  therefore,  that  the  journey  of  Jesus  to  the  feast  of 
Tabernacles  is  not  the  one  spoken  of  by  St.  Luke  and  the  other  Synoptics. 
There  still  remain  the  journey  made  on  the  occasion  of  the  feast  of  the 
Dedication  and  that  of  the  Passover.  That  of  the  feast  of  the  Dedication 
is  spoken  of  in  St.  John  x,  22,  as  a  mere  incident,  Jesus  probably  being  at 
the  gates  of  Jerusalem  at  that  time.  It  bears  no  resemblance  to  what  is  said 
in  St.  Luke  ix,  5\  et  seq.  Finally,  to  admit  that,  in  this  passage  of  St.  Luke, 
there  is  question  of  a  journey  later  than  that  of  the  Dedication  and  con- 
sequently later  than  that  which  was  shortly  to  lead  Jesus  to  the  fatal  Pass- 
over, would  be  to  compress  within  too  short  a  period  those  events  which 
occupy  eight  chapters  of  St.  Luke's  Gospel,  not  to  spjeak  of  St.  John  xi. 

To  enable  us  to  prolong  the  too  short  interval  between  the  payment  of  the 
tribute  and  the  Paschal  week,  we  have,  it  is  true,  the  hypothesis  of  a  ve'-Adar 
or  second  month  of  Adar,  occurring  every  three  years.  But  we  must  not 
omit  to  remark  that  in  supposing  this  happy  coincidence  to  have  taken 
place  in  the  last  year  of  Jesus's  ministry,  it  will  then  follow  that  the  pajmaent 
of  the  tribute  was  retarded  by  that  very  fact  and,  falling  in  ve'-Adar,  would 
be  closer  than  ever  to  the  feast  of  the  Passover.    Thus  the  expedient  of  this 

[283] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

them  to  be  weak  and  pusillanimous — but  He  would  accus- 
tom them  by  degrees  to  fix  their  eyes  on  the  scene  of  the 
final  combat,  and  at  the  same  time  close,  by  a  last  apos- 
tolic campaign,  embracing  all  the  countries  not  yet  evan- 
gelised in  Palestine,  His  Messianic  ministry. 

He  therefore  went  back  to  Capharnaum,  preceded  by 

extra  month  is  of  no  avail.  Besides  it  is  very  difficult  to  prove  positively 
that  the  tax  demanded  from  Jesus  was  not  the  civil  tax,  which  was  paid  at 
the  end  of  the  civil  year,  before  the  feast  of  Tabernacles,  and  more  difficult 
still  to  deny  that  those  in  arrears  were  not  usually  obliged  to  pay  the  Temple 
taxes  on  the  eve  of  the  three  great  feasts  of  the  year.  The  inconvenience  of 
this  chronology  being  as  evident  as  the  insufficiency  of  its  proofs,  we  prefer 
to  identify  the  joiu-ney  spoken  of  by  St.  Luke  and  the  other  Synoptics  with 
the  time  of  the  feast  of  Tabernacles,  which  it  ought  to  follow,  not  with  the 
feast  of  the  Dedication,  which  it  ought  to  precede  and  include.  If  it  is  not 
mentioned  by  St.  John,  it  is  to  be  understood  from  what  passed  at  the  feast 
of  Tabernacles.  In  reality,  it  must  have  been  the  last  journey  made  by 
Jesus,  for  He  never  again  returned  to  Galilee.  But  this  journey  must  have 
been  prolonged  so  as  to  admit  of  delays,  missions,  and  even  one  appearance 
at  a  feast  in  Jerusalem.  This  appearance  is  categorically  stated  in  St.  John 
X,  22,  and  appears  quite  natural  by  tlie  involuntary  indication  in  St.  Luke  x, 
38,  who,  in  relating  the  story  of  the  journey,  suddenly  shows  us  the  Master 
at  the  gates  of  Jerusalem  receiving  hospitality  in  Bethany. 

The  agreement  of  St.  John  and  St.  Luke  seems  therefore,  to  us,  to  be 
established,  by  placing  the  departiu-e  related  by  the  latter  and  the  two 
other  Synoptics,  soon  after  the  feast  of  Tabernacles  and  before  the  feast  of 
the  Dedication.  It  is  a  journey  which  St.  John  presupposes,  since  it  was 
the  decisive  journey,  but  which  he  does  not  mention. 

Jesus,  after  the  uproar  in  the  Holy  City,  where  probably  the  whole  number 
of  His  disciples  had  not  followed  Him,  returned  to  Capharnaum  to  prepare 
for  His  final  departiu-e.  We  need  not  be  surprised  at  the  silence  of  St.  John 
respecting  this  return;  these  disconcerting  omissions  are  frequent  on  his  part. 
Thus  at  the  end  of  ch.  v  he  does  not  remark  that  Jesus  returned  to  Galilee, 
and  nevertheless  at  the  beginning  of  ch.  vi  he  speaks  of  Him  as  crossing 
the  Lake  of  Tiberias.  We  may,  however,  observe  that  he  gives  us  one  useful 
indication,  when  he  tells  us  that  after  the  Dedication  Jesus  returned  "beyond 
the  Jordan."  The  words  avrj\6ev  irdXiv  certainly  refer  to  a  recent  sojourn 
in  Peraea,  and  not  to  the  time  of  His  baptism.  It  was  therefore  from  that 
place  that  He  came.  But  it  is  to  this  very  same  place  that,  after  His  de- 
partiu-e  from  Galilee,  the  Synoptics  say  He  went  {St.  Mark  x,  1 ;  St.  Matt. 
xix,  1).  The  harmony  of  this  combination  permits  us  to  follow  almost 
wholly  the  order  of  St.  Luke.  We  have  only  to  interpolate,  at  the  time  of 
His  visit  to  Martha  and  Mary,  Jesus'  momentary  appearance  at  the  feast  of 
the  Dedication,  when  He  resumes  the  struggle  begun  at  the  feast  of  Taber- 
nacles. He  returns,  after  a  more  or  less  protracted  stay  at  Bethany,  to 
Persea,  where  He  continues  His  ministry  until  the  resurrection  of  Lazarus. 
The  rest  follows  without  difficulty. 

[284] 


BOOK  III]     JESUS  RETURNS  INTO   GALILEE 

the  report  of  His  triumphant  and  reiterated  declarations 
not  only  in  Jerusalem,  but  in  the  Temple  itself,  in  the 
hearing  and  before  the  eyes  of  His  adversaries  burning 
with  rage,  but  powerless  to  undertake  any  plan  of  action 
against  Him. 

The  pride  of  the  Galileans  must  have  been  flattered,  and 
if  some  were  timid  and  looked  with  fear  upon  the  future 
of  the  Prophet  Whom  they  loved,  still  there  is  nothing  to 
hinder  the  belief  that  many  among  them  sustained  their 
courage  mutually  together  with  their  sacred  hopes.  At 
any  rate,  we  shall  see  that  as  He  started  He  was  accom- 
panied not  by  simple  well-wishers,  but  by  a  devoted  and 
determined  band  of  followers. 


[286] 


Section  II 

Jesus  with  His  Little  Church  Leaves  Galilee  in  View  of 
the  Final  Struggle 


CHAPTER    I 

SOLEMN    DEPARTURE    FROM    CA- 
PHARNAUM 

Resolute  Attitude  of  Jesus  as  He  Advances  to  the 
Struggle — Sad  Farewell  to  the  Faithless  Cities 
OF  Galilee — A  Town  in  Samaria  Refuses  Him  Hos- 
pitality— Indignation  of  the  Sons  of  Thunder — 
The  Spirit  of  the  Gospel  —  Three  Candidates 
FOR  THE  Apostolate — The  One  Must  Pause  for 
Thought — Another  Must  Advance  Without  Delay 
— Having  Once  Begun,  No  One  Must  Look  Back. 
(St.  Luke  ix,  51-62;  St.  Matthew  viii,  19-22;  xi, 
20-24.) 

The  situation  was  grave,  and  St.  Luke  ^  Is  right  in 
emphasising  the  dramatic  phase  of  the  resolution  which 
Jesus  then  formed.     The  end  of  His  ministry  and  even 

'  The  entire  verse  in  St.  Luke  ix,  51,  reveals  the  Aramean  source  from 
which  the  Evangelist  derived  his  information.  'Ef  ry  trvfji.irK'iipovadai  ras 
7)ixepas  indicates,  with  intentional  solemnity,  the  fulfilment  of  a  period  which 
will  end,  as  it  were,  fatally,  with  the  removal  of  Jesus,  ttjj  ava\4\y^(ws  avrov, 
that  is,  with  His  departure,  for  God  awaits  Him  at  the  close  of  these  ap- 

[286] 


BOOK  III]    DEPARTURE   FROM   CAPHARNAUM 

of  His  life  appearing  imminent — what  He  had  seen  and 
heard  in  Jerusalem  no  longer  permitted  Him  to  doubt  it 
— it  is  said  that  He  "steadfastly  set  His  face"  to  meet 
bravely  the  attack  by  which  He  would  be  cut  off  from 
the  number  of  the  living  and  raised  up  in  glory. 

His  disciples,  admiring  His  heroism,  made  ready  to 
imitate  Him  in  this,  and  we  shall  soon  see  that  their  en- 
thusiasm was  great  enough  to  appeal  to  their  power  as 
thaumaturgi  even  at  the  expense  of  charity.  The  little 
Church,  therefore,  gathered  around  its  head.  The  pious 
women  of  Galilee  wished  to  have  their  place  therein.^  The 
words  of  St.  Matthew  and  St.  Mark,^  which  would  seem  to 
indicate  a  general  emotion  among  the  people  at  the  de- 
parture of  Jesus  and  His  followers,  ought,  perhaps,  to  be 
understood  as  referring  to  the  multitudes  that  followed 
them  in  Peraea. 

At  any  rate,  when  He  was  on  the  point  of  leaving  the 
shores  of  the  lake,  Jesus'  heart  was  filled  with  sadness. 
This  was  quite  legitimate.  Although  He  had  gathered 
among  the  mountains  of  Galilee  the  nucleus  of  the  Church 
which  He  took  with  Him,  He  left  the  vast  majority  of 
the  people  there  still  unconvinced  of  His  Messianic  char- 
acter, and  His  enemies  were  more  audacious  than  ever.  So 
that  after  so  many  prodigious  achievements,  after  spread- 
ing so  much  light  and  exercising  so  much  mercy.  His  re- 
ligious labours  seemed  to  be  generally  incomplete,  assailed, 
and  even  compromised  in   those  regions.     It  was  at  this 

pointed  days.  He  will  remove  Him  once  more  from  earth,  to  which  He  had 
wished  only  to  lend  Him.  The  other  explanations  of  avdxn^is  are  umiatural. 
Jesus's  death,  above  all,  is  referred  to  here.  That  is  why  the  Evangelist 
adds  npocrwiroj/  e(Trr)pt(rev.  plainly  a  translation  of  a  Hebrew  phrase  fre- 
quently employed  in  the  Old  Testament.  (Jer.  xxi,  10;  xlii,  15;  xliv,  12; 
Ezech.  vi,  2 ;  Daniel  xi,  17,  etc.)     "His  face  was  of  one  going  to  Jerusalem." 

'  We  shall  find  them  mentioned  again  in  the  last  scene  of  the  Passion 
{St.  Luke  xxiii,  55). 

3  St.  Matt,  xix,  2,  and  St.  Mark  x,  1. 

[287] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

moment,  no  doubt,*  that,  shaking  the  dust  from  His  feet, 
with  one  last  glance  along  the  shores  of  the  lake,  where 
He  had  spent  so  many  happy  hours,  He  spoke  this  sad 
farewell  to  the  faithless  cities  of  Galilee:  "Woe  to  thee, 
Corozain,  and  woe  to  thee,  Bethsaida !  For  if  in  Tyre  and 
Sidon  had  been  wrought  the  mighty  works  that  have  been 
wrought  in  you,  they  would  have  done  penance  long  ago, 
sitting  in  sackcloth  and  ashes.  But  it  shall  be  more  toler- 
able for  Tyre  and  Sidon  at  the  judgment  than  for  you." 
And  then,  with  livelier  indignation — the  ingratitude  of 
friends  is  more  cutting  than  that  of  strangers — He  ad- 
dressed His  mother-city,  which  He  was  leaving  forever: 
"And  thou,  Capharnaum,  which  art  exalted  unto  heaven, 
thou  shalt  be  thrust  down  to  hell."  The  greater  the  effort 
God  makes  to  bind  unto  Himself  a  faithless  society,  the 
more  severe  He  becomes  in  His  abandonment  of  it.  What 
city  of  Palestine  had  been  more  favoured  than  Caphar- 
naum, which  had  become  the  second  home  of  Jesus  and  the 
usual  scene  of  His  divine  works .''  Alas !  the  greater  her 
privileges,  the  greater  her  chastisement,  and  her  final  anni- 
hilation shall  be  in  direct  proportion  to  her  former  exalta- 
tion. "For  if  in  Sodom  had  been  wrought  the  miracles 
that  have  been  wrought  in  thee,  perhaps  it  had  remained 
unto  this  day.  Birt  I  say  unto  you  that  it  shall  be  more 
tolerable  for  the  land  of  Sodom  in  the  day  of  judgment 
than  for  thee." 

The  caravan  was  large.  Jesus  despatched  messengers 
ahead  to  announce  its  coming  and  to  make  sure  of  decent 
hospitality.^     They  had,  doubtless,  already  passed  by  the 

*  In  St.  Matt,  xi,  20-23,  these  words  of  Jesus  come  at  a  time  when  as 
yet  there  seems  to  be  no  reason  for  their  severity,  the  ministry  in  Galilee 
not  being  so  near  its  end.  In  St.  Luke  x,  13,  they  come  too  late.  The 
Master  uttered  them  probably  at  the  very  moment  when  He  quitted  the 
shores  of  the  lake. 

^The  text  is  explicit:  Sxrre  kroifuiffai  avr^  (St.  Luke  ix,  52). 

[288] 


BOOK  III]    DEPARTURE  FROM   CAPHARNAUM 

Galilean  cities  of  the  plain  of  Esdrelon,  when  they  came  to 
the  frontier  towns  of  Samaria.  One  of  these  cities  into 
which  the  messengers  had  made  their  way — Ginea,  it  is 
thought,  at  the  present  time  Djenin,  perhaps  because 
Josephus  ®  says  that  it  was  a  frontier  town  of  northern 
Samaria — refused  to  receive  them.  They  had  allowed  it 
to  be  known  ^  that  they  were  pilgrims  on  their  way  to 
Jerusalem.  The  text  ^  seems  to  say  that  Jesus  Himself 
arrived  in  time  to  encounter  this  refusal. 

The  disciples  were  terribly  scandalised.  They  were  the 
advance  guard  in  the  Messiah's  triumphal  march;  filled 
with  patriotic  illusions,  they  already  beheld  the  entire  coun- 
try rising  up  to  acclaim  the  theocratic  King,  and  here 
an  ill-conditioned  village  of  Samaria  dared  to  close  its 
gates  upon  Him !  This  was  an  altogether  outrageous  pro- 
ceeding. For  believers  who  already  saw,  beyond  the  lim- 
its of  time,  the  gates  of  heaven,  according  to  the  prophetic 
apostrophe  of  the  Psalmist,  lifted  up  by  the  strength  of 
angels  to  admit  the  King  of  Glory ,^  could  there  be  any- 
thing more  revolting  than  the  attitude  of  these  miserable 
Samaritans  who  refused  the  divine  Conqueror  admission 
into  their  town.^*  "Lord,"  cried  out  James  and  John, 
humiliated  at  having  to  endure  so  cutting  a  refusal  in  the 
name  of  Jesus,  "Lord,  wilt  Thou  that  we  command  fire 
to  come  down  from  heaven  and  consume  them.'"'  The 
memory  of  Sodom  ^'^  evoked  by  the  last  words  of  Jesus 
on  His  departure  from  Capharnaum,  or  perhaps  of  Elias, 
who  had  appeared  at  the  Transfiguration,  and  whom  they 
so  ardently  desired  to  see  living  again,  haunted  their  minds. 
Why  not  punish  the  inhospitality  of  the  Samaritans,  as  the 

« B.  J.,  iii,  3,  4. 

'  The  expression  3t<  rh  irpiffunrov  avrov  Jjv  iropevSnevov,  "  His  face  was  of 
one  going  to  Jerusalem"  (cf .  Exod.  xxxiii,  14 ;  II  Kings  xvii,  11),  betrays  the 
Aramean  origin  of  St.  Luke's  document. 

*  It  says  Koi  ovK  iSf^avro  avT6y.  '  Ps.  xxiii,  7.  "  Gen.  xix. 

[289] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

two  Angels  of  the  Lord  had  chastised  that  of  Sodom?  The 
terrible  Thesbite,^^  were  he  there,  would  not  fail  to  draw 
down  fire  from  heaven  upon  the  enemies  of  Jehovah.  Why 
not  prove  before  the  eyes  of  all  that  the  power  of  God 
is  with  the  young  Church,  and  that  the  fire  of  His  wrath 
will  consume  any  who  persist  in  impeding  her  development  ? 
This  proposal  was  worthy  of  the  two  ardent  disciples  to 
whom  Jesus  had  already  given  the  surname  Sons  of  Thun- 
der, amid  circumstances  of  which  we  are  ignorant.  Far 
from  sharing  their  violent  indignation,  the  Master,  Who 
had  placed  Himself  once  more  at  the  head  of  the  caravan 
to  resume  the  journey,  turned  quickly  upon  them  and  in  a 
voice  of  unusual  severity  said :  "You  know  not  of  what 
spirit  you  are.  The  Son  of  Man  came  not  to  destroy 
souls,  but  to  save."  ^^  The  spirit  of  the  New  Testament 
is,  above  all,  a  spirit  of  gentleness,  of  charity,  and  of 
patience.  To  renew  the  severity  of  the  Old  Covenant  at 
this  time  were  to  be  deceived  as  to  date  and  to  mistake 
the  distinctive  character  of  the  Christian  Kingdom.  It 
is  true  that  the  Church,  in  order  to  protect  herself  against 
falsehood  and  corruption,  will,  at  times,  employ  severity 
against  those  who  are  consciously  and  obstinately  wicked. 
Thus,  she  will  strike  Ananias,  Saphira,  Elymas,  the  in- 
cestuous man  of  Corinth ;  but  this  is  not  her  ordinary 
method  of  government  and  of  triumph.  Against  infidels 
and  against  the  ignorant  who  refuse  her  ministrations 
without  a  thought  of  her  mission,  as  the  Samaritans  do 
here,  she  raises  no  other  arms  than  mildness,  forbearance, 
and  mercy. 

"  IV  Kings  i,  10,  12. 

"  According  to  another  interpretation  the  terms  of  this  rebuke,  which, 
indeed,  the  principal  manuscripts  X,  A,  B,  C,  D  omit,  were  even  more  severe: 
"You  know  not  what  spirit  now  dictates  your  words."  As  if  He  meant  that, 
in  speaking  thus,  they  had  been  inspired  by  Satan.  The  word  which  the 
Evangehst  uses,  iicerifi.i)(r(v,  indicates  that  it  was  a  severe  lesson. 

[290] 


BOOK  III]    DEPARTURE  FROM   CAPHARNAUM 

He  therefore  Who  had  pronounced  a  malediction  upon 
the  Pharisees  and  the  unfaithful  Galilean  cities  had  noth- 
ing harsh  to  say  to  the  inhabitants  of  this  humble  village. 
Resignedly  He  pursued  His  way  and  looked  for  a  town 
that  would  be  less  inhospitable.  This  did  not  prevent  the 
popular  movement  from  pronouncing,  nearly  everywhere 
along  the  way,  in  favour  of  the  youthful  Messiah.  He 
received  even  spontaneous  offers  of  more  or  less  disinter- 
ested devotion.  Thus  one  day  a  Scribe,  a  rather  unusual 
recruit,  presented  himself.  The  enthusiasm  of  the  disci- 
ples had  won  him  over,  and,  sharing  their  hopes,  he  wished 
to  be  associated  with  them  in  their  fortunes.  "Master," 
he  said,  "I  will  follow  Thee,  whithersoever  Thou  shalt  go." 
Was  this  new  proselyte  presuming  too  much  on  his  own 
strength,  or  did  he  permit  himself  to  be  guided  in  his 
homage  by  human  views.''  Jesus'  reply  does  not  answer 
this.  Neither  accepting  nor  rejecting  his  offer,  the  Mas- 
ter invites  him  to  reflect  in  order  that  he  may  not  be  mis- 
taken as  to  the  consequences  of  his  perhaps  too  sudden  reso- 
lution. If  he  thinks  to  find  among  the  Apostolic  group 
consideration  and  comfort,  he  is  deceived,  for  he  must  ex- 
pect, above  all,  the  practice  of  self-denial  and  sacrifice. 
"The  foxes  have  holes,"  said  Jesus,  "and  the  birds  of  the 
air  nests,  but  the  Son  of  Man  hath  not  where  to  lay  His 
head."  This  response,  tinged  with  profound  sadness,^  ^ 
alluded  to  the  refusal  of  hospitality  which  He  had  just  re- 
ceived, and  revealed  without  any  evasion  all  the  precarious- 
ness,  the  humiliation,  and  the  severity  that  was  henceforth 
to  mark  the  life  of  the  labourers  of  the  Gospel.  Later  on, 
even  the  Apostles'  condition  shall  be  no  better.  Not  know- 
ing in  the  morning  where  they  shall  repose  for  the  night, 

"  There  is  no  doubt  that  this  incident  of  the  Scribe  soliciting  the  Apostle- 
ship  is  better  placed  here,  according  to  St.  Luke's  account,  than  in  St. 
Matt,  viii,  19. 

[291] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

these  valiant  champions  of  truth  shall  behold  themselves 
condemned  to  wander  at  random,  without  refuge,  but  not 
without  persecutors.  Their  lot  shall  seem  more  wretched 
than  that  of  the  wild  beast.  Such  is  the  future.  The 
proselyte  must  needs  foresee  it  well  before  he  braves  it. 
The  Sacred  Text  does  not  relate  at  what  decision  the 
Scribe  arrived,  or  whether  the  Master's  response  by  its 
harshness  destroyed  or  strengthened  his  good  resolutions. 
To  another  neophyte,  who  appears  to  have  manifested  his 
desire  of  the  Apostleship  less  ardently,  but  who,  perhaps, 
presented  more  sincere  guarantees  of  perseverance,  Jesus 
said,  "Follow  Me!"  This  man,  of  a  reflecting,  prudent 
nature,  felt  himself  withheld  by  family  ties.  A  heart  thus 
trammelled  rarely  becomes  capable  of  heroic  generosity. 
He  replied:  "Suff*er  me  first  to  go  and  bury  my  father." 
Not  that  his  father  was  as  yet  really  dead — so  great  a 
grief  would  not  have  afforded  him  the  time  to  come  and 
hear  or  see  Jesus  on  that  day  ^^ — but  his  father  was  aged 
or  perhaps  dying,  and  the  young  man  desired  the  con- 
solation of  closing  his  eyes.  Jesus  says:  "Let  the  dead 
bury  the  dead;  but  go  thou  and  preach  the  Kingdom  of 
God."  Grace  suffers  no  delay.  To  hesitate  and  to  post- 
pone the  sacrifice  is  most  frequently  to  risk  never  accom- 
plishing it.  There  is  the  danger  that  the  voice  of  heaven 
may  become  less  urgent,  the  circumstances  may  be  mod- 
ified, and  the  opportunity  lost.  When  Jesus  passes, 
when  He  calls,  we  must  follow  Him;  afterward  it  will  be 
too  late.  To  bury  a  father  is,  no  doubt,  a  sacred  duty, 
still  we  can  imagine  a  duty  yet  more  sacred.  Necessity 
takes  precedence  of  propriety.  The  son  who  does  not  let 
the  enemy  go,  even  when  he  sees  his  father  fall  on  the  field 

"This  observation  is  the  better  founded  since  the  body  was  never  kept 
for  more  than  a  day  in  the  house  of  the  dead.  (St.  Matt,  ix,  23;  Acta  v, 
7,  10,  etc.) 

[292] 


BooKiii]  SOLEMN  DEPARTURE 

of  battle,  puts  his  country  above  his  father,  and  rightly 
so.  To  establish  the  Church,  to  glorify  God,  to  save  souls, 
is  even  more  necessary  and  more  admirable  than  to  bury 
one's  parents.  That  is  what  Jesus  means  to  have  us  un- 
derstand. Did  not  the  law  deny  the  High  Priest  and  the 
Nazarites  the  consolation  of  paying  their  last  respects  ^'^ 
even  to  their  most  cherished  dead  solely  for  the  sake  of 
keeping  them  free  from  legal  impurity?  But  here  the  mo- 
tive is  more  urgently  grave,  for  the  grace  of  the  Apostolate 
is  at  stake.  It  is  evident,  in  fact,  that  even  were  the  aged 
father  dying  at  that  moment,  the  son,  after  having  gone 
to  his  burial,  would  be  impure  for  seven  days,^^  and  un- 
able to  come  to  Jesus ;  but  a  week  is  equivalent  to  a  year 
at  the  present  time.  In  seven  days  Jesus  will  be  far  away ; 
in  seven  days  all  the  emotions  of  grief  will  have  passed 
from  the  soul  of  the  disciple  and  will  have  left  it  calm 
again ;  in  seven  days  other  proselytes  will  have  taken 
his  place.  Let  the  dead  bury  the  dead — such  are  they  who 
live  beyond  the  way  of  salvation — and  let  common  souls 
pay  thought  to  the  vulgar  things  of  life.  The  true  dis- 
ciple of  Jesus  has  but  one  thought,  but  one  ambition :  to 
spread  the  light  of  the  Gospel  and  to  glorify  God.  The 
dead  must  not  detain  those  who  have  received  the  mission 
of  sowing  the  seed  of  life. 

A  third  disciple  presented  himself  with  almost  as  much 
generosity  as  the  first,  but  with  a  request  for  a  respite  like 
the  second.  The  delay  will  be  brief:  merely  to  go  to  his 
home,  to  take  leave  of  his  family,  to  put  his  affairs  in 
order,  and  then  return  immediately.  "No  man,"  says  the 
Master,  "putting  his  hand  to  the  plough  and  looking 
back,  is  fit  for  the  Kingdom  of  God."  For  the  plough- 
man, in  turning  for  a  moment,  loses  sight  of  his  goal ;  if 
he  divides  his  attention,  he  lets  the  team  go  astray,  and 
'^  Levit.  xxi,  11 ;  Numb,  vi,  6-7.  '"  Numb,  xix,  11-22. 

[293] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

retards  the  work,  Instead  of  advancing  it.  Every  work 
that  is  undertaken  amid  other  preoccupations  is  done  in 
disorder  and  tardily.  But  the  founding  of  the  Kingdom 
of  Heaven  must  be  done  well  and  quickly.  The  workmen 
who  would  establish  it,  impelled  by  a  burst  of  heroism,  like 
the  soldier  rushing  to  arms,  will  march  on  heedless  of  those 
who  dare  to  cry  out  after  them  to  remain  in  peace  at  home, 
and  care  for  their  own  interests  by  living  for  the  happi- 
ness of  their  children.  God  has  pointed  out  the  position 
they  are  to  occupy  in  the  terrible  assault  which  the  Gospel 
is  to  make  against  the  corruption  of  mankind.  They  must 
no  longer  look  back ;  their  duty  is  to  go  ahead. 

With  such  incidents  on  the  way,  wherein  the  disciples 
learned  to  know  the  grandeur  and  the  generosity  of  the 
Apostolic  vocation,  they  had  probably  reached  the  banks 
of  the  Jordan,  on  the  frontier  of  Peraea,  the  Jewish  prov- 
ince which  Jesus  intended  to  evangelise  before  bringing  His 
Apostolic  ministry  to  a  close. 


[294] 


CHAPTER    II 

THE   MISSION   OF   THE   SEVENTY 
DISCIPLES 

The  Time  Is  Short,  the  Labourers  Must  Be  Mul- 
tiplied —  The  Great  Apostolic  Campaign  of  the 
Seventy  Disciples — The  Instructions  Which  They 
Receive,  Some  Identical  with  Those  Given  to  the 
Apostles,  Others  for  Them  Alone  —  Success  of 
This  Mission — The  Disciples  Return  Triumphant 
— The  Words  of  Jesus — Expressions  of  Joy  and 
Love  for  the  Father.  (St,  Luke  x,  1-24;  St.  Mat- 
thew xl,  25-30.) 

Before  entering,  as  missionary,  this  country  which  He 
had  often  traversed  as  pilgrim,  the  Master  regarded  it 
with  love  and  compassion.  There  were  many  sons  of 
Israel  lost  among  these  rugged  mountains  of  Galaad,  or 
amid  the  pagan  populations  of  the  great  cities  of  Gadara, 
Gerasa,  and  Philadelphia.  They  must  have  seemed  to  de- 
serve the  greater  attention,  since  they  lived  for  the  most 
part  beyond  the  reach  of  the  religious  parties  of  Jerusa- 
lem. These  were  new  and  fruitful  lands  that  the  disciples 
were  about  to  enter.  Jesus,  showing  them  to  His  disciples, 
said:  "The  harvest,  indeed,  is  great,  but  the  labourers  are 
few.     Pray  ye  therefore  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  that  He 

[295] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [pakt  second 

send  labourers  into  His  harvest."  And,  Master  Himself  in 
His  Father's  house,  He  at  once  multiplies  the  labourers. 
To  the  twelve  Apostles  He  joins  seventy  disciples.^  This 
number  was  symbolical.  It  had  played  a  great  part  in  Jew- 
ish history.  When  the  family  of  Jacob  arrived  in  Egypt,  it 
numbered  seventy  souls ;  ^  Moses  had  fixed  the  number  of 
the  ancients  in  Israel  at  seventy ;  ^  the  Sanhedrim  was 
composed  of  seventy  judges,  and,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
Jews,  mankind  was  divided  into  seventy  different  peoples. 
It  was  on  the  frontiers  of  paganism  that  the  new  army 
was  going  to  operate.  The  Twelve  had  been  chosen  for 
Israel,  the  Seventy  for  the  entire  world. 

Like  the  Apostles,  the  disciples  were  to  depart  two  by 
two,  the  heralds  of  the  Good-Tidings,  to  proclaim  in  all 
parts  that  the  hour  for  the  religious  awakening  had 
struck,  and  that  the  Messiah-King  was  come.  "Go !"  the 
Master  says  to  them.  "Behold  I  send  you  as  lambs  among 
wolves."  The  gentleness  of  the  lamb  well  befits  the 
preachers  of  the  Gospel.  Presenting  themselves  without 
defence,  with  pretensions  timid,  almost,  in  their  humility, 
they  shall  thus  triumph  over  the  fury  of  the  wolves. 

As  for  material  worries,  they  must  have  none.  "Carry 
neither  purse,  nor  scrip,  nor  shoes."  God  charges  Him- 
self to  provide  for  their  needs.  "Salute  no  man  by  the 
way."     This  would  be  a  useless  waste  of  precious  time.^ 

*  According  to  some  manuscripts,  we  should  have  to  read  it  seventy-two,  and 
it  is  remarkable  that  in  Jewish  history  we  find  this  divergency  with  regard  to 
the  same  number  more  than  once.  Thus  it  is  thought  that,  according  to  GcTie- 
sis,  there  were  seventy-two  peoples  and  not  seventy ;  that  the  ancients  of  Israel 
were  seventy-two,  as  if  they  could  thus  be  more  easily  divided  among  the 
twelve  tribes ;  that  there  were  seventy-two  Alexandrian  translators  instead  of 
seventy.  Nevertheless  in  the  quotation  in  question,  as  in  the  others,  the 
reading  seventy  seems  the  best  authorised. 

*  Gen.  xlvi,  27. 

'  Numb,  xi,  16-25. 

*  Salutations  in  the  East  are  very  complicated,  and  the  inflections  of  the 
body  and  the  embraces  which  they  exact  would  have  been  a  loss  of  time  in 
an  hour  when  every  minute  had  its  value. 

[296] 


BOOK  in]         MISSION  OF  THE  SEVENTY 

The  Good-Tidings  which  they  bear  must  hasten  their  steps, 
until  the  moment  when  they  shall  deposit  the  precious 
treasure  in  a  safe  place.  Thus,  long  before,  had  Giezi,  the 
servant  of  Eliseus,^  received  the  command  to  travel  in 
haste,  and,  stopping  to  salute  no  man,  to  lay  the  prophet's 
staff  upon  the  lips  of  the  Sunamitess'  child.  Eliseus  was 
to  come  later  on  to  complete  the  cure.  Like  the  Apostles, 
whose  mission  they  repeat  exactly,  although  in  a  lower 
sphere,  the  disciples  must,  on  entering  a  house,  begin  by 
wishing  peace  to  those  who  dwell  therein ;  for  it  is  indeed 
peace  that  they  bring  to  anxious  and  troubled  souls.  If 
there  be  there  a  son  of  peace,  that  is,  a  man  who  seeks 
and  merits  truth,  the  missionary's  wish  shall  go  straight 
to  him  and  produce  its  fruit ;  if  not,  it  shall  return  to  him 
who  spoke  it,  and  shall  soon  afterward  fall  like  a  blessing 
doubly  rich  on  others  who  shall  be  more  worthy. 

Just  as  the  Apostles,  the  disciples  may  lodge  in  the 
house  in  which  they  shall  have  been  favourably  received, 
eating  and  drinking  what  has  been  given  them,  easy  to  be 
satisfied,  but  also  without  false  shame.  Is  not  the  labourer 
worthy  of  his  hire  ?  And  does  not  he  who  brings  the  bread 
of  the  soul  merit  the  gift  that  nourishes  the  body.-'  As 
it  was  forbidden  to  the  Twelve,  so  it  is  again  to  the  Sev- 
enty to  go  from  house  to  house ;  for  it  might  be  suspected 
that  they  were  in  search  of  luxurious  repasts.  They  must 
accept  the  hospitality  offered  them,  without  rendering  it 
burdensome  to  those  who  furnish  it,  a  detestable  thing 
in  a  labourer  of  the  Gospel.  Instead  of  attending  to  de- 
tails insignificant  in  a  hfe  such  as  his,  the  disciple  shall 
devote  himself  wholly  to  the  duties  of  his  ministry.  The 
healing  of  the  sick  shall  be  his  first  care,  as  it  had  been 
the  Apostles'.  Like  them  again,  they  are  all  to  prove  by 
miracles  the  legitimacy  of  their  mission  and  the  truth  of 
^  JV  Kings  iv,  id. 

[297] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

what  they  proclaim.  "The  Kingdom  of  God  is  come  nigh 
unto  you."  This  shall  be  their  unceasing  cry.  At  these 
words  the  true  Israel  shall  rouse  itself  to  hasten  to  the 
Messiah-King. 

Should  any  city  refuse  them  hospitality  and  reject 
their  services,  let  them  proceed  to  the  public  square,  and, 
shaking  the  dust  from  their  shoes,  let  them  say :  "Even 
the  very  dust  of  your  city  that  cleaveth  to  us  we  wipe 
off  against  you.  Yet  know  this,  that  the  Kingdom  of 
God  is  at  hand."  Woe  to  the  citizens  who  shall  have  thus 
refused  the  Gospel!  On  the  day  of  the  Lord  they  shall 
be  more  terribly  chastised  than  they  of  Sodom  and  Go- 
morrha ;  for  the  latter  went  astray  when  night  hung  over 
the  world,  whereas  the  former  were  obstinate  in  spite  of 
and  against  the  light  that  shone. 

Whether  hostility  be  open  or  disguised,  the  messengers 
of  God  must  not  forget  that  they  ought  to  be  "wise  as 
serpents  and  simple  as  doves."  ^  Bearers,  yet  few  in  num- 
ber, of  the  Good-Tidings,  it  would  be  imprudent  in  them 
to  expose  themselves  to  death.  The  hour  for  martyrdom 
must  come,  but  it  will  be  later  on.  "And  when  they  shall 
persecute  you  in  this  city,"  the  Master  adds,  "flee  into 
another.  Amen,  I  say  to  you,  ye  shall  not  finish  all  the 
cities  of  Israel  till  the  Son  of  Man  come."  He  will  fol- 
low His  envoys,  and  comfort  them  when  they  are  un- 
happy. They  must,  however,  expect  all  kinds  of  trials, 
calumnies,  betrayals,  and  evil  treatment.  "The  disciple  is 
not  above  the  Master,  nor  the  servant  above  his  Lord. 
It  is  enough  for  the  disciple  that  he  be  as  his  Master,  and 
the  servant  as  his  Lord.     If  they  have  called  the  Good- 

°  We  have  tried  to  make  a  different  classification  of  several  fragments 
which  have  been  introduced  by  St.  Matthew  into  the  discourse  addressed 
to  the  Apostles  at  the  time  of  their  mission,  and  which  should  be  transferred 
to  more  critical  periods  than  those  of  the  Galilean  ministry. 

[298] 


BOOK  III]         MISSION  OF  THE  SEVENTY 

man  of  the  liousc  Beelzebub,  how  much  more  them  of 
His  household !"  Thej  must  act,  preach,  spread  the  Hght, 
or  stand  aside. 

Again,  if  Israel  evinces  an  unconquerable  repulsion  for 
the  Good-Tidings,  they  have  only  to  turn  to  the  left  or 
to  the  right.  Samaria  and  the  pagan  cities  of  Pentapolis 
are  not  closed  to  the  disciples,  as  they  had  been  to  the 
Apostles.'^  The  Kingdom  of  God  can  and  must  pass  be- 
yond Israel,  and  go  to  find  new  subjects  throughout  the 
world.  What  the  Master  desires  at  this  solemn  moment 
is  to  inaugurate  the  universal  preaching  of  religious 
truth.  He  cannot  be  everywhere  Himself;  but  each  one, 
on  learning  that  He  is  passing  near,  can  come  to  meet 
Him  on  His  way.  As  a  last  word  of  encouragement  and 
a  consoling  benediction.  He  adds  these  words :  "He  that 
heareth  you,  heareth  Me:  and  he  that  despiseth  you,  de- 
spiseth  Me.  And  he  that  despiseth  Me,  despiseth  Him 
that  sent  Me."  The  new  disciples  possess,  therefore,  like 
the  Apostles,  the  word,  the  authority,  the  very  majesty 
of  God.     That  is  why  God  is  their  protection. 

The  Gospel  does  not  say  how  long  this  mission  of  the 
seventy  disciples  lasted.  It  may  have  been  prolonged 
many  days,  for  in  all  probability  these  emissaries  passed 
through  all  the  country  as  far  as  the  ford  of  Jericho. 
Jesus  followed  them  closely.  It  is  certain  that  when  they 
rejoined  the  Master,  the  disciples  were  more  satisfied  than 
the  Apostles.  "Lord,"  they  said,  transported  with  inno- 
cent joy,  "the  devils  also  are  subject  to  us  in  Thy  name." 
These  words  suggest  that  they  had  succeeded  in  healing 
the  sick,  but  that  this  seemed  to  them  but  little  in  com- 
parison with  the  power  which  they  had  exercised  over  the 
demons  themselves !     So  happy  a  result,  compared  with 

'  It  is  remarkable  that  Jesus  does  not  set  any  limits  to  the  ground  of  the 
disciples'  Apostolate,  as  He  had  done  for  that  of  the  Apostles  {St.  Matt,  x,  5). 

[299] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [pakt  second 

the  relative  failure  which  in  other  days  the  Twelve  had 
experienced,  filled  them  with  delight.  Jesus  let  them  see 
that  He  shared  in  their  happiness  by  solemnly  proving 
their  success. 

"I  saw  Satan,"  He  said,  "like  lightning  falling  from 
heaven."  Though  far  from  the  conflict.  He  followed  it 
with  His  eye  and  directed  it  with  His  invisible  influence. 
The  attack  was  made  on  Satan  with  vigour,  and  the 
usurper  of  divine  glory,  he  who  had  substituted  himself 
for  the  true  Master  in  the  empire  of  souls,  had  just  been 
struck  to  death.  The  meteor,  which,  for  a  time  deceiving 
our  eyes,  wavers  and  falls  suddenly  to  the  horizon,  van- 
ishes not  more  miserably  than  the  power  of  Satan.  As 
the  disciples  have  delivered  the  possessed  from  his  rule, 
so  shall  they  soon  free  the  pagan  world,  that  great  de- 
moniac groaning  in  slavery.  The  defeat  has  begun. 
Before  the  preaching  of  the  Apostles  and  of  the  disciples, 
their  auxiliaries,  idolatry  shall  fall.  Satan,  blinded  by 
the  light  of  the  Gospel,  feels  himself  already  cast  down 
from  the  lofty  throne  upon  which  his  pride  had  seized. 
Jesus,  while  contemplating  his  fall  of  to-day,  lets  His  eye 
rest  above  all  upon  that  of  the  morrow. 

"Behold,  I  have  given  you,"  He  adds,  "power  to  tread 
upon  serpents  and  scorpions,  and  upon  all  the  power  of 
the  enemy,  and  nothing  shall  hurt  you."  Is  there  in  this 
declaration  of  the  Master  an  allusion  to  the  promise  made 
by  God  to  Adam's  posterity.?  It  is  possible;  and,  like 
Jesus,  the  wonderful  off'spring  of  the  new  Eve,  the  Apos- 
tles, too,  shall  crush  the  head  of  the  serpent.  In  vain 
shall  the  demon  summon  all  his  forces:  the  craft  of  here- 
tics, the  violence  of  persecutors,  the  venom  of  calumny 
and  of  hate ;  the  disciples  of  Jesus  shall  be  stronger  than 
this  conspiracy  of  the  infernal  powers,  and,  despite  the 
fury  of  the  demons,  they  shall  people  the  Church  and  shall 

[  300  ] 


BOOK  III]         MISSION  OF  THE  SEVENTY 

maintain  her  great  and  beautiful  for  the  glory  of  her 
Founder. 

"But  yet,"  adds  the  Saviour  in  the  solemn  tone  of  the 
Master  giving  an  important  lesson,  "rejoice  not  in  this, 
that  spirits  are  subject  unto  you;  but  rejoice  in  this, 
that  your  names  are  written  in  heaven."  *  For  the  power 
of  doing  miracles,  if  it  is  a  guarantee  of  truth  of  doc- 
trine and  of  authority  in  behalf  of  the  thaumaturgus, 
would  not  be  an  irrefragable  proof  of  individual  sanctity. 
One  may  achieve  wonders  and  not  save  his  soul,  as  the 
Saviour  says  on  another  occasion.  Instead  of  yielding  to 
vanity  because  of  their  power,  the  essential  thing  is,  then, 
for  the  disciples  to  work  with  energy  for  their  own  sanc- 
tification,  lest,  after  having  converted  others,  they  them- 
selves, alas,  may  turn  out  to  be  only  miserable  reprobates. 
The  possession  of  special  authority  in  the  Church  on 
earth  were  little,  indeed,  if  one  should  not  be  later  on  of 
the  Church  in  heaven,  and  the  glory  of  achieving  some- 
thing here  below  is  nothing  if  we  lose  the  right  of  citizen- 
ship above.  At  the  same  time,  Jesus'  soul,  full  of  con- 
solation and  hope,  abandoned  itself  to  a  joy,  the  sweet 
expression  of  which  reminds  us  of  His  final  discourse  at 
the  Last  Supper.^ 

"I  confess  to  Thee,  O  Father,  Lord  of  heaven  and 
earth,"  He  exclaimed,  "because  Thou  hast  hidden  these 
things  from  the  wise  and  prudent,  and  hast  revealed  them 

*  An  image  commonly  employed  in  Holy  Scripture  is  that  of  the  Book 
of  Life  in  which  God  inscribes  or  erases  the  names  of  those  who  are  to  share 
in  salvation  or  be  excluded  therefrom:  £a;od.  xxxii,  32;  Ps.  Ixviii,  29;  Isa.  iv, 
3 ;  Jerem.  xvii,  13 ;  Philipp.  iv,  3 ;  Apoc.  iii,  5,  and  the  allusion  in  St.  Matt. 
V,  12. 

'  Nothing  is  more  striking  than  the  resemblance  between  the  discourse 
by  Jesus  given  here  by  St.  Matthew  and  St.  Luke,  and  those  which  we  read 
in  St.  John.  For  compilations,  usually  so  different  in  other  respects,  to  agree 
so  thoroughly  when  they  depict  the  Master's  soul,  the  supreme  ideal  of 
sanctity  and  light,  it  is  necessary  that  both  be  inspired  by  the  most  exact 
truth. 

[301  ] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [pakt  second 

to  little  ones.  Yea,  Father,  for  so  it  hath  seemed  good  in 
Thy  sight."  ^^  The  divine  plan  shows,  and  most  remark- 
ably so,  that  its  Author  has  excluded  from  the  struggle 
against  darkness  all  that  might  have  been  able  to  lend  the 
aid  of  real  strength,  the  learned,  the  wise,  the  teachers  of 
Israel.  These  seers  have  had  no  vision ;  they  have  re- 
mained in  the  enemy's  camp.  The  ignorant,  the  unknown, 
and  a  few  of  the  great,  who  have  laid  aside  their  science 
and  their  pretensions  in  order  to  become  as  little  children, 
alone  have  been  called  to  learn  the  truth  and  to  defend  it. 
This  proves  that  God  alone  can  effect  the  transformation 
of  the  world;  and  Jesus  is  pleased  to  do  homage  to  His 
omnipotence,  while  He  adores  the  secret  designs  of  His 
eternal  wisdom,  in  which  He  acquiesces  with  His  whole 
heart.  After  this  flight  of  love  and  joy  toward  the 
Father,  His  expression  of  gratitude  gives  way  to  a  calmer 
meditation  which  expresses  admiration.  "All  things  are 
delivered  to  Me  by  My  Father,"  He  says,  "and  no  one 
knoweth  who  the  Son  is  but  the  Father ;  and  who  the 
Father  is  but  the  Son,  and  to  whom  the  Son  will  reveal 
Him."  As  Son,  He  is  the  depositary  of  all  that  the 
Father  is,  all  that  the  Father  can  and  wills.  What  is  it 
to  be  Son  if  it  be  not  to  reproduce  the  complete  life  of 
the  Father.?  Therefore,  from  this  natural  relation  rises 
the  perfect  knowledge  which  the  Father  and  Son  have  of 
each  other.  The  Father,  knowing  Himself,  knows  the 
Son,  Who  is  His  perfect  likeness;  and  the  Son,  in  turn, 
knowing  Himself,  knows  the  Father,  Whose  perfect  and 
infinite  reproduction  He  is. 

This  divine  science,  which  the  Son  has,  as  God,  from 
all  eternity  and  by  His  essence.  He  also  has,  as  Man,  by 
communication,  and  He  alone  among  creatures  has  a  right 

'"  Here  we  find  another  Hebraism,  (vSoKla  ifiirpoffBiv  o-ow,  which  denotes  an 
Aramean  document.    (Comp.  Exod.  xxviii,  38.) 

[  302  ] 


BOOK  in]         MISSION  OF  THE  SEVENTY 

to  it,  because  He  alone  has  In  Him  the  divine  nature  hypo- 
statically  united  with  human  nature.  But  He  may  dis- 
pense this  knowledge,  received  in  all  its  plenitude  from  on 
high,  to  whom  He  will  and  in  what  measure  He  will.  Such 
is  the  triumph  of  His  generosity,  the  work  of  His  mercy, 
and  the  object  of  His  mission.  Poor  mistaken  lives,  souls 
tortured  by  doubt,  hearts  broken  by  suffering,  the  Mas- 
ter has  a  thought  for  them  all. 

"Come  to  Me,  all  ye  that  labour  and  are  burdened,  and 
I  will  refresh  you.  Take  up  My  yoke  upon  you,  and 
learn  of  Me,  because  .  I  am  meek  and  humble  of  heart : 
And  ye  shall  find  rest  unto  your  souls,  for  My  yoke  is 
sweet  and  My  burden  light."  It  is  a  touching  call  that 
for  ages  has  aroused,  attracted,  and  caused  innumerable 
generations  of  just  men  to  put  forth  the  fine  flower  of 
virtue.  Jesus  has  received  from  His  Father  all  that  is 
needed  for  the  consolation  of  His  friends :  truth  to  dispel 
uncertainty,  law  to  regulate  the  will  without  erecting  any 
useless  obstacles,  grace  to  aid  the  movement  of  the  new 
life.  He  seeks  only  to  distribute  these  many  treasures. 
His  heart  contains  no  repellent  arrogance;  it  Is  full  of 
that  amiable  simplicity  that  welcomes  every  one  sweetly 
and  tenderly.  Therefore,  as  His  commandments  exact 
nothing  too  great.  His  rule  shall  be  one  of  consolation. 
Do  not  His  disciples  furnish  an  undeniable  proof  of  it.'' 
Who  among  the  wise  and  the  great  of  earth  has  felt  the 
joy  of  soul  which  these  Galilean  peasants  experience? 
No  one,  let  it  be  known ;  and  therefore  Jesus  concludes : 
"Blessed  are  the  eyes  that  see  the  things  which  ye  see. 
For  I  say  to  you  that  many  prophets  and  kings  have 
desired  to  see  the  things  that  ye  see,  and  have  not  seen 
them;  and  to  hear  the  things  that  ye  hear,  and  have  not 
heard  them."  For  there  is  something  of  greater  advan- 
tage and  of  greater  glory  than  the  spirit  of  prophecy 

[303] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  beconb 

and  the  sceptre  of  kings:  namely,  to  be  the  witnesses  of 
the  Messianic  manifestation  that  brings  salvation.  The 
disciples  are  not  only  witnesses  of  it,  they  are  the  privi- 
leged elect  and  effective  co-labourers  in  it. 

From  this  time  on  the  Seventy  hold  their  places  in  the 
ranks  of  the  Christian  Church  with  their  distinctive  privi- 
leges. They  are  grouped  around  Our  Lord  in  a  state 
inferior  to  that  of  the  Apostles,  but  superior  to  that  of 
the  simple  faithful.  After  the  Ascension  we  shall  see 
them  again  constituting  a  special  body,  which  shall  have 
its  particular  prerogatives  and  functions  in  the  definitive 
organisation  of  the  new  religious  society. 

Catholic  theology  commonly  teaches  that  they  were  to 
pastors  of  the  second  order  what  the  Apostles  were  to 
those  of  the  first.  For  their  institution  seems  to  be  per- 
petuated in  the  priests,  who,  having  the  care  of  souls,  are, 
under  the  direction  of  bishops,  the  authorised  labourers 
of  the  Kingdom  of  God. 


[304] 


/ 


CHAPTER    III 

A   SCRIBE   xVSKS:   "WHO    IS   MY 
NEIGHBOUR?  " 

A  Scribe  Comes  and  Asks  What  One  Must  Do  to  Be 
Saved — Love  God  and  Thy  Neighbour — "Who  Is  My 
Neighbour?" — The  Beautiful,  Parable  of  the  Sa- 
maritan— In  Misfortune  We  Desire  to  Have  Every 
One  as  a  Neighbour  —  Therefore  the  Afflicted 
Must  Be  Our  Neighbours.  (St.  Matthew  xix,  1;  St. 
JMark  X,  1 ;  St.  Luke  x,  25-37.) 

Concerning  this  first  evangehsation  of  Peraea  we  have 
certain  general  information  which  hkens  it  in  many  ways 
to  that  of  Gahlee.  St.  Matthew  and  St.  Mark  say,  in 
fact,  that  the  concourse  of  people  around  the  youthful 
Prophet  was  very  numerous.  The  mission  of  the  seventy 
disciples,  or  the  thirty-five  couples  of  precursors,  had  not 
a  little  contributed  to  this.  All  wished  to  see  Him  of 
Whom  such  great  things  were  told,  and  when  they  saw 
Him  they  were  charmed  by  His  personality.  His  eloquence, 
and  His  works. 

Jesus  began,  "as  He  was  accustomed,"  says  St.  Mark, 
to  instruct  those  who  came  to  Him,  and  His  teaching,  al- 
ways so  vivid  in  its  sublime  simplicity,  stirred  the  souls  of 
the  peasants  on  the  mountains  of  Galaad  as  it  had  those 

[305] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

of  Galilee.  The  miracles  He  wrought  gave  a  definite 
authority  to  His  words. 

St.  Matthew  observes  that  He  healed  the  sick.  They 
had  been  brought  to  Him  in  great  numbers ;  for  mankind 
is  so  constituted  that  bodily  suffering  always  seems  harder 
to  bear  than  that  of  the  soul.  Men  are  always  more  eager 
to  be  healed  than  to  be  taught. 

At  times,  however,  there  were  to  be  found  men  who  sought 
enlightenment,  or,  at  least,  desired  to  make  this  new  Doc- 
tor prove  His  theological  knowledge.  This  was  the  case 
with  a  certain  Scribe  who  approached  Jesus,  very  probably 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Jericho.  Inasmuch  as  the  Master 
locates  the  scene  of  the  parable  (which  He  gives  as  His 
answer)  on  the  road  from  this  city  to  Jerusalem,  and  since 
He  is  found  so  soon  afterward  at  the  home  of  Martha 
and  Mary,  this  hypothesis  contains  nothing  improbable. 
Moreover,  the  nearer  He  approached  to  Judea,  the  more 
likely  was  He  to  encounter  legalists  and  men  preoccupied 
with  the  religious  question,  like  the  man  mentioned  here 
by  St.  Luke. 

One  day,  therefore,  while  Jesus  was  instructing  the  peo- 
ple, a  Scribe  arose,  and,  wishing  to  try  ^  Him,  put  the 
following  question :  "Master,  what  must  I  do  to  possess 
eternal  life.^"  The  Gentiles  were  seeking  the  truth;  the 
Jews,  salvation.  This  man  therefore  speaks  of  salvation 
as  of  a  heritage  ^  promised  to  the  true  children  of  Israel, 

'  The  term  avea-rrj  indicates  that  the  audience  was  seated  listening  to 
Him.  Although  the  question  was  put  to  try  Jesus — iicirnpa^uv — we  should 
be  wrong  in  deeming  that  it  was  dictated  by  malevolence.  It  contained  no 
captious  element,  and  the  reply  would  in  no  case  have  any  unpleasant  con- 
sequences. We  can  at  most  ascribe  to  the  Jewish  doctor  only  the  unfavour- 
able intention  of  sounding  the  theological  knowledge  of  the  young  Galilean 
Master.  The  word  tempting  ought  to  be  taken  here  in  the  sense  of  in- 
terrogating. St.  Matthew  (xxii,  35)  uses  the  same  word  in  speaking  of  a 
Scribe  who  also  tempts  Jesus,  and  of  whom,  however,  the  Master  says  {St. 
Mark  vii,  34)  that  he  is  not  far  from  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 

^  He  employs  the  term  /cATjpow/i'^o-ft). 

[306] 


BOOK  III]        "WHO   IS  MY  NEIGHBOUR?" 

and  gives  us  the  key-note  of  the  rehgious  life  in  the  most 
ardent  souls  in  Judaism.  Jesus  gazed  intently  at  him. 
Then,  pointing  with  His  finger,  perhaps,  at  the  response 
written  on  one  of  the  phylacteries  which  His  questioner 
bore  suspended  from  his  head  or  from  his  arm,^  or,  more 
probably,  appealing  to  the  knowledge  of  His  somewhat 
curious  interrogator,  and  simply  inviting  him  to  reply 
himself,  He  said  to  him :  "What  is  written  in  the  law?  How 
readest  thou?"  The  Scribe  quite  fittingly  answered: 
"Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  thy  whole  heart, 
and  with  thy  whole  soul,  and  with  all  thy  strength,  and 
with  all  thy  mind,  and  thy  neighbour  as  thyself."  *  If 
it  is  to  his  personal  reflections  that  he  owed  this  appro- 
priate union  of  two  precepts  found  separate  in  the  law 
of  Moses,^  and  this  admirable  summing-up  of  the  duties 
of  man,  we  can  only  join  with  Jesus  in  paying  homage 
to  his  wisdom.  But,  perhaps,  he  had  already  heard  this 
important  question  treated  by  the  Master  Himself,  or  was 
led  up  to  this  excellent  reply  by  a  series  of  questions  which 
the  Evangelist  has  not  preserved.  In  any  case,  he  admira- 
bly sets  forth  the  regular  movement  of  divine  love.  Ac- 
cording to  him,  it  should  issue  from  the  heart,  as  from 
the  centre  of  the  moral  life,  to  spread  thence  into  the  soul 
or  consciousness,  into  the  strength  or  will,  into  the  mind 
or  intellect,  the  wonderful  trinity  that  most  completely 
sums  up  the  whole  man. 

'Passages  from  Scripture  were  inscribed  in  richly  framed  parchments, 
which  were  worn  hke  amulets,  strimg  upon  the  body,  especially  when  the 
wearer  was  going  to  pray.     (See  Buxtorf,  Lex.  Talmud.,  pp.  1743  and  2105.) 

*  The  text  of  the  law  mentions  only  the  heart,  the  soul,  and  the  strength. 
{Deut.  vi,  5.)  The  origin  of  this  variant  may  be  in  the  translation  of  the 
Septuagint,  which  the  Evangelist  no  doubt  had  in  mind  together  with  the 
Hebrew  text.  The  Septuagint  translates  leh,  which  signifies  both  mind  and 
lieari,  by  ^idvoia,  mind.  St.  Luke  took  it  in  the  sense  of  heart,  and  has,  at 
the  same  time,  allowed  the  word  mind,  chosen  by  the  Septuagint,  to  remain 
in  his  compilation. 

^  The  first  part  is  in  Devi,  vi,  5,  and  the  second  in  Levit.  xix,  18. 

[307] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

Proceeding  from  the  most  lively,  the  most  profound,  and 
the  most  sublime  sources  in  man,  it  should  seek  God  as 
the  sovereign  Good,  and  then  it  will  extend  to  our  neigh- 
bour, the  image  and  work  of  God,  whom  we  must  esteem 
therefore  and  love  as  ourselves,  for  the  love  of  God  creates 
the  love  of  our  neighbour.  "Thou  hast  answered  right," 
said  the  Saviour,  "this  do  and  thou  shalt  live."  To  cling 
with  all  one's  being  to  God  and  to  all  that  is  of  God,  is  to 
begin  to  enjoy  heaven  here  below,  and  consequently  to 
make  it  certain  in  the  future.  He  who  has  charity  is  just, 
and  he  who  is  just  will  be  saved. 

However,  the  Scribe  was  not  content  with  this  response. 
Whether  it  was  that  he  was  desirous  of  parading  his 
own  knowledge  to  a  greater  extent  and  of  trying  that  of 
Jesus,  or — which  is  more  probable — that,  feeling  accused 
by  the  very  encouragement  of  the  Master  to  practise  the 
law,  he  sought  to  excuse  himself  by  the  uncertainty  in  the 
words  of  the  second  part  of  this  law,  he  immediately  asked : 
"And  who  is  my  neighbour?"  The  meaning  of  the  word 
neighbour  seems  to  him  to  be  vague.  How  is  it  to  be 
understood  in  its  application?  Jesus  will  tell  him  with 
His  customary  kindness.  First  of  all,  it  is  not  in  books, 
but  in  the  heart  that  one  must  look  for  the  answer  to  this 
question.  The  voice  of  nature  will  furnish  it  better  than 
all  the  theories  that  blossom  in  the  human  mind  or  are 
discussed  in  the  Rabbinical  schools.  Among  the  theolo- 
gians of  the  Synagogue,  some  have  imagined  that  true  fra- 
ternity did  not  reach  beyond  the  family  circle,  others  have 
extended  it  to  the  members  of  the  same  religious  society, 
and  many,  in  fine,  have  assigned  to  it  as  limits  the  boun- 
dary lines  of  one's  country.  But  none  of  these  theories  was 
really  in  conformity  with  the  divine  precept.  For,  accord- 
ing to  this,  the  human  brotherhood  rests  upon  a  base  as 
vast  as  mankind.     Every  man,  by  the  very  fact  that  he  is 

[308] 


BOOK  III]        "WHO   IS  MY  NEIGHBOUR?" 

man,  whatever  be  his  family,  his  religion,  his  country,  Is 
close  to  us.  He  shares  in  our  nature ;  and  by  his  heart,  his 
intelligence,  his  aspirations,  his  needs,  he  is  near  to  our 
life,  near  to  our  whole  being,  and  consequently  is  our 
brother  or  neighbour.  Such  doctrine  may  well  be  amazing 
to  selfish  hearts,  but  it  is  none  the  less  true  that,  as  formu- 
lated by  the  Master,  it  has  entranced  and  filled  generous 
souls  with  a  holy  enthusiasm.  In  addition  to  this,  let  us 
see  the  sweet  and  touching  parable  to  which  He  had  re- 
course in  order  to  explain  it  in  its  fulness.  "A  certain 
man,"  He  said,  "went  down  from  Jerusalem  to  Jericho." 
This  man  must  have  been  a  Jew ;  at  least  we  may  conclude 
as  much  from  the  fact  that  he  starts  out  from  Jerusalem, 
as  the  Scribe  himself  had  perhaps  done  quite  recently.  He 
travels  on  without  fear.  He  was  in  his  own  country,  and 
the  succour  of  his  compatriots  naturally  seemed  assured. 
None  of  these  details  is  needless  in  the  exposition,  and  all 
together  contribute  to  give  to  the  parable  a  pungency  that 
will  impress  it  on  the  minds  of  His  hearers.  "And  he 
fell  among  robbers,  who  also  stripped  him,  and,  having 
wounded  him,  went  away,  leaving  him  half  dead."  The 
road  from  Jerusalem  to  Jericho  is  not  long  (about  four- 
teen miles),  but  it  passes  through  desert,  rocky  places, 
along  precipices,  where  at  all  times  brigands  were  accus- 
tomed to  lie  in  wait  for  travellers  to  rob  them.^  The  man 
of  the  parable  had  not  allowed  himself  to  be  despoiled  with- 
out defending  himself;  this  explains  the  blows  he  had  re- 
ceived. Alone,  losing  blood  from  every  wound,  beneath 
a  devouring  sun,  unable  to  call  for  help,  he  lay  there  dying. 
Fortunately  Providence  has  an  eye  for  the  abandoned. 

"It  chanced  that  a  certain  priest  went  down  the  same 
way."     A  priest  is  one  whom  we  look  upon  as  naturally 
most  sympathetic.     His  familiar  relations  with  God,  Who 
"  Antiq.,  XX,  6,  1 ;  Bell.  Jud.,  xi,  12,  5;  St.  Jerome,  in  Jerem.  iii,  2. 

[309] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [pabt  second 

is  sovereign  mercy,  should  fill  his  heart  with  the  fire  of 
charity.  This  priest  had  probably  left  the  Temple  that 
very  day,  and  was  returning  to  his  Levitic  city,  after 
having  conscientiously  performed  his  functions  of  the  week. 
It  was  a  good  opportunity  for  him  to  prove  that  he  knew 
how  to  do  good  to  men,  as  well  as  to  pay  homage  to  God. 
He  saw  the  unfortunate  man.  It  was  a  heart-rending 
sight ;  the  dying  man  lay  upon  the  ground,  too  weak  to 
ask  for  aid  either  by  words  or  by  look,  but  he  kept  calHng 
out  to  him  with  all  his  gaping  wounds  and  the  painful 
groans  which  accompanied  the  gradual  ebbing  away  of 
his  life.  The  priest,  trained,  no  doubt,  in  the  school  of  the 
Pharisees  and  devoted  to  that  vain,  self-regarding  religion 
which  the  Pharisees  preached  to  their  disciples,  coldly 
turned  a  glance  of  pity  in  the  direction  of  the  wretched 
man,  and,  ''turning  aside,  passed  by."  Evidently  he 
thought  himself  too  great  a  man  to  dismount,  or  too  filled 
with  important  thoughts  to  stop. 

"In  like  manner,  also,  a  Levite."  After  the  master, 
the  servant.  This  second  and  more  modest  personage, 
accustomed  to  do  the  material  services  of  the  worship  in 
the  Temple,  seemed  prepared  in  advance  for  the  good  work 
that  Providence  was  about  to  propose  to  him.  He  lived 
near  enough  to  God  to  have  in  his  heart  a  spark  of  charity, 
and  modest  enough  before  men  to  lend  himself  to  the  more 
humble  ofHces  of  common  life.  "When  he  was  near  the 
place,  and  saw  him" — this  was  a  step  farther  than  the 
priest  had  gone,  and  it  appeared  certain  that  the  Levite 
would  attempt  something  for  the  relief  of  such  awful 
misery ;  but,  no,  like  the  other — he  "passed  by."  Was  it 
fear  that  had  seized  upon  him,  or  was  it  merely  disgust 
and  annoyance  at  the  sight  of  a  man  in  so  pitiable  a 
state?  We  cannot  say.  The  thought  that  no  one  wit- 
nessed his  base  conduct  moved  him  to  leave  to  others  a 

[310] 


BOOK  III]        "WHO   IS  MY  NEIGHBOUR?" 

work  which  he  was  able  to  decline.  If,  perchance,  he  re- 
membered the  neighbour  whom  he  ought  to  love  as  him- 
self, his  selfish  casuistry  at  once  told  him  that  this  unfortu- 
nate man  was  not  included  in  the  theological  lists  made 
out  by  the  Rabbis.  Heedless  of  the  voice  of  humanity, 
of  patriotism,  of  religion,  he  tells  himself  that  this  man, 
even  a  child  of  Israel  like  himself,  was  not  absolutely  his 
neighbour.  The  sigh  of  compassion,  which  he  doubtless 
heaved,  as  he  glanced  toward  him,  was  the  sole  alms  he 
could  afford  him.  No  better  than  the  priest,  he,  like  him, 
went  his  way. 

"But  a  certain  Samaritan,  being  on  his  journey,  came 
near  him."  To  the  Jews  every  Samaritan  was  a  man  of 
evil.  In  return,  every  Jew  was  detested  by  the  Samari- 
tans as  a  son  of  a  hated  race.  Could  this  dying  man, 
whom  the  priest  and  the  Levite  had  not  treated  as  a  human 
being,  although  he  was  their  fellow-countryman,  seem  to 
be  a  neighbour  to  the  traveller  from  Samaria  ?  The  latter 
has  already  looked  upon  him,  and  by  his  costume  he  has 
recognised  an  enemy  of  his  nation.  Why  should  not  he 
hurl  at  this  wretch  the  insult  which  a  hundred  times  he 
has  received  from  Jewish  hps:  "It  is  but  a  dog;  let  me 
pass".'*  No,  in  the  presence  of  death,  he  forgets  all  na- 
tional and  religious  antipathies.  He  sees  in  this  son  of 
Israel  a  man,  like  himself,  with  the  death-rattle  in  his 
throat.  What  does  he  owe  him?  In  other  words,  is  he 
his  neighbour?  Instead  of  interrogating  the  casuistry  of 
the  Rabbis,  this  honest  traveller  will  seek  in  his  own  heart 
the  answer  to  his  question.  He  asks  himself  simply,  if, 
lying  there  himself  all  bloody  in  the  dust  of  the  road,  he 
would  wish  to  find  his  neighbour  in  a  Jew.  Deep  in  his 
soul,  the  selfishness  natural  to  every  man  tells  him  yes, 
and  he  decides  that  he  must  act  as  neighbour  to  tliis  Jew 
who  is  dying. 

[311] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

"And  seeing  him,  he  was  moved  with  compassion,"  the 
Master  goes  on.  Thus,  according  to  the  beautiful  thought 
of  St.  Gregory,'  the  Samaritan's  first  movement  is  to  give 
him  his  sympathy,  that  is,  the  most  precious  thing  he  has. 
The  rest  must  come  as  a  consequence.  Forgetting  that 
he  is  hard  pressed  by  business,  that  he  has  no  relations  in 
a  hostile  country,  that  he  may  even  run  serious  risks  there- 
in, he  yields  only  to  the  kind  promptings  of  his  heart. 
Bending  over  the  dying  man,  he  binds  up  his  wounds,  hav- 
ing poured  over  them  oil  and  wine,  simple  remedies  with 
which  every  traveller  in  the  East  ordinarily  provides  him- 
self. Then  he  puts  the  wounded  man  upon  his  own  beast, 
thus  giving  up  his  chance  of  escape  from  the  brigands 
who  may  yet  be  in  the  neighbourhood.  He  advances  on 
foot,  supporting  as  best  he  can  the  wounded  man  whose 
groans  touch  his  heart.  In  this  way  they  arrive  at  the 
neighbouring  ^  inn.  There  he  sets  about  attending  him 
at  his  ease.  After  several  hours  of  fraternal  solicitude 
his  mission  appeared  to  be  ended.  Turning  him  over  to 
his  compatriots  and  fellows  in  religion,  the  Jews,  he  had 
only  to  say :  "Here,  he  is  less  my  neighbour  than  yours ;  I 
leave  him  to  you ;  it  is  for  you  to  take  my  place."  But, 
guided  by  the  mere  moral  law,  this  good  man's  conscience 
spoke  to  him  in  far  different  language.  Since  important 
interests  forbade  him  to  lose  much  time  on  the  road,  he 
sought  to  find  means  of  being  by  the  side  of  the  wounded 
man,  even  when  he  should  have  left  him ;  he  provides  him 
with  generous  credit  with  the  host  who  has  received  them. 
"The  next  day  he  took  out  two  pence,  and  gave  them  to  the 
host  and  said :  Take  care  of  him,  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt 
spend  over  and  above,  I  at  my  return  will  repay  thee." 

'  St.  Greg.,  Moralia,  xx,  36. 

*  Being  a  Samaritan,  lie  could  not  accept  hospitality  from  Jews.     He  had 
to  seek  shelter  in  a  pulalic  place,  in  an  inn  open  to  aU  travellers. 

[  312] 


BOOK  III]        "WHO   IS   MY  NEIGHBOUR?" 

The  parable  was  ended.  By  the  contrast  which  He 
cleverly  drew  between  the  coldness  of  the  first  two  and  the 
charity  of  the  third,  the  Master  has  just  dictated  the  an- 
swer to  the  difficulty  proposed:  "Who  is  my  neighbour?" 
Nevertheless,  He  wished  the  Scribe  to  formulate  it  himself. 
"Which  of  these  three,"  He  said  to  him,  "in  thy  opinion, 
was  neighbour  to  him  that  fell  among  the  robbers?"  At 
first  sight,  the  question  seems  to  be  awkwardly  put.  For 
the  Scribe  had  asked  who  is  the  neighbour  of  him  who  is 
to  give  relief?  and  not  whose  neighbour  is  this  latter? 
But  it  is  easy  to  understand  how  the  word  neighbour  estab- 
lishes a  necessary  correlation.  Inasmuch  as  it  signifies 
nearness  it  supposes  reciprocity.  One  is  neighbour  to  his 
neighbour,  as  he  is  brother  to  his  brother.  Hence  to  re- 
verse the  terms  is,  indeed,  the  right  of  the  Teacher  Who 
is  giving  the  lesson,  especially  if  He  seeks  to  dictate  the 
more  surely  in  this  way  the  answer  desired.  This  is  the 
case  here.  For  we  understand  the  extent  of  a  duty  better 
by  the  relations  of  others  to  ourselves  than  by  our  rela- 
tions to  them.  The  Scribe  may  well  ask  himself  who  is 
his  neighbour,  and,  if  there  is  question  of  doing  good  to 
others,  hesitate  in  his  response.  On  the  other  hand,  he 
will  formulate  it  at  once  when  it  is  a  matter  of  being  aided 
himself.  Let  him  put  himself  in  the  place  of  the  wounded 
man,  and  he  will  see  if  the  question  embarrasses  him  for 
a  single  instant.  There  is  no  doubt  of  it,  even  a  Samari- 
tan, out-and-out  Samaritan  as  he  may  be,  can  be  neigh- 
bour to  a  Jew.  The  Scribe  yields  and  acknowledges  it  to 
be  so;  but  with  a  trace  of  national  sensitiveness,  instead 
of  simply  naming  the  Samaritan,  he  has  recourse  to  cir- 
cumlocution. "He,"  he  says,  "that  showed  mercy  to  him." 
And  Jesus  said  to  him:  "Go  and  do  thou  in  like  manner." 
That  is  to  say :  "In  spite  of  all  barriers  of  nationality,  of 
religion,  of  private  or  public  antipathies,  be  a  neighbour 

[313] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

to  every  man  In  trouble.  Were  misfortune  to  come  to  thee 
thyself,  whom  shouldst  thou  wish  to  find  upon  the  way  as 
a  kind  neighbour?  Any  man,  without  doubt.  Therefore, 
consider  that  in  thy  turn  thou  must  treat  every  man  as 
thy  neighbour." 


[  314  ] 


CHAPTER    IV 

THE   HOME   OF   MARTHA  AND   MARY 

The  Family  at  Bethany — Martha,  Lazarus,  and  Mary 
— The  Different  Characters  of  the  Two  Sisters — 
Mary's  Is  Easily  Explained,  Especially  if  She  Was 
None  Other  Than  the  Sinner,  Mary  Magdalen — 
Decisive  Reasons  That  Support  This  Hypothesis — 
Magdalen  Had  at  That  Time  Gone  Back  to  Beth- 
any— The  Social  Position  of  the  Family — Hospi- 
tality Differently  Offered  and  Differently  Un- 
derstood BY  the  Sisters  —  Martha  Is  Troubled, 
Whereas  Mary  Listens  —  Martha's  Vexation  and 
Her  Demand — Jesus'  Reply — A  Lesson  of  Wisdom. 
(St.  Luke  X,  38-42.) 

On  the  feast  of  the  Dedication,  which  would  be  celebrated 
soon,  Jesus  intended  to  appear  suddenly  once  more  in  Jeru- 
salem, this  time  for  a  briefer  period  than  on  the  feast  of 
Tabernacles.  The  general  state  of  mind  did  not  permit 
Him  to  remain  long  and  without  precaution  in  the  capital. 
By  stirring  up  a  movement  which  would  bring  on  the  final 
catastrophe  He  would  have  compromised  the  whole  divine 
plan.  For  the  faithful  fulfilment  of  the  prophecies,  Jesus 
must  appear  in  Jerusalem,  as  the  official  Messiah  acclaimed 
by  His  followers,  only  on  the  approaching  feast  of  the 
Passover,  It  is  on  the  day  following  this  triumph  that, 
generously  surrendering  to  His  enemies.  He  must,  as  the 

[  315  ] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [pakt  second 

sublime  realisation  of  the  Paschal  Lamb,  die  upon  the 
Cross,  to  demonstrate  to  all  Israel  assembled  Avhat  kind  of 
INIessiah  He  had  consented  to  be.  Once  again,  therefore, 
He  betook  Himself  to  the  Holy  City  without  commotion 
and,  as  it  were,  after  having  hidden  in  the  neighbourhood. 

Fifteen  stadia,  that  is,  less  than  two  miles,  from  Jerusa- 
lem, in  the  town  of  Bethany,  was  a  house  in  which  He  was 
a  welcome  guest.  If  Mary  Magdalen,  one  of  the  women 
accompanying  the  Apostolic  group  from  Galilee,  was,  as 
we  shall  endeavour  to  prove,  a  member  of  the  family  that 
dwelt  there,  we  may  easily  understand  that  there  was  an 
agreement  between  her  and  Jesus,  whereby  the  latter  had 
a  secure  refuge  which  would  enable  Him  to  appear  unex- 
pectedly in  the  Temple  and  then  to  disappear  as  suddenly. 

St.  Luke,  with  little  attention,  at  this  point,  to  the 
chronological  order  of  events  of  which  he  seems  to  have  lost 
the  thread,  suddenly  presents  the  Master  in  a  locality  which 
he  does  not  designate,  at  the  home  of  two  women,  Martha 
and  Mary,  till  then  unmentioned  in  his  Gospel,  nor  does 
he  refer  to  them  thereafter.  Happily  the  fourth  Gospel 
supplies  the  omission  by  informing  us  more  thoroughly 
of  the  interesting  details  of  the  family  life  at  Bethany. 
In  this  way  are  explained  the  frequent  visits  of  Jesus  be- 
fore the  fatal  Passover.^  The  mistress  of  the  house  seems 
to  have  been  Martha/  either  because  she  was  the  eldest  of 
the  family,  or  because  circumstances  had  caused  to  devolve 
on  her  the  whole  charge  of  a  home  deprived  of  its  head. 
This  latter,  who,  according  to  an  ancient  tradition,  was 
Simon   the   leper,^   mentioned   without  further  details  by 

^  St.  John  xviii,  2;  St.  Luke  xxi,  37;  xxii,  39. 

^  MipOa  inreSf^aro  avrhy  eh  rhv  oIkov  auTTJs,  says  St.  Luke.  She  does  the 
honours  of  her  house. 

^  See  Greswell's  interesting  dissertation :  On  the  Village  of  Martha  and 
Mary;  Nicephorus,  H.  E.,  i,  27;  Theophylact  on  this  passage,  etc.  Since 
Martha  is  honoured  as  a  virgin  by  the  Church  it  is  more  correct  to  suppose 
that  Simon  was  not  her  husband,  but  her  father. 

[316] 


BooKiii]  MARTHA  AND   MARY 

St.  ]\Iatthew  and  St.  Mark,*  seems  to  have  left  his  place 
vacant  in  this  house  at  the  time  when  Jesus  appears  there. 
It  is  difficult  to  say  whether  he  was  really  dead  or  merely 
separated  from  the  society  of  the  living  by  his  leprosy. 
The  Evangelists  simply  mention  him  without  any  qualifica- 
tion or  description.  It  is  certain,  however,  that,  besides 
Martha,  who  governed  the  house,  the  family  contained 
another  daughter  named  Mary,  and  a  son  called  Lazarus. 
As  we  do  not  see  that  the  latter  ever  held  the  first  place 
in  the  domestic  circle,  and  since  on  one  occasion  he  is  simply 
classed  among  the  guests,^  while  his  sisters  do  the  honours 
of  the  house,  we  may  conclude  either  that  he  was  still 
young  or  that  his  own  domicile  was  elsewhere.  It  is,  per- 
haps, on  this  account  that  St.  Luke  does  not  mention  him 
in  the  present  narrative,  and  is  content  with  confining  our 
attention  to  Martha  and  INIary. 

Equally  good  and  devoted  to  the  IMaster,  the  two  sisters 
were  entirely  dissimilar  both  in  temperament  and  experi- 
ence. Martha  was  a  practical,  active  woman,  proving  her 
affection  by  her  care  of  human  things ;  in  a  word,  she  was 
of  that  stamp  of  which  many  are  needed  for  the  happiness 
of  mankind.  Mary  was  an  intelligent,  meditative  woman, 
lofty  in  her  aspirations,  of  the  kind  with  which  we  are 
happy  to  meet  for  the  honour  of  the  sex  to  which  they  be- 
long. The  one,  no  doubt,  saw  heaven  beyond  earth;  the 
other  scarcely  thought  of  earth  after  knowing  heaven.  A 
soul  like  Martha's  could  not  know  the  great  storms  of  life ; 
a  heart  hke  Mary's  was  made  to  seek  them,  to  pass  through 
and  to  issue  from  them,  bruised,  but  still  able  to  effect 
for  itself  a  new  existence.  The  difference  between  these 
two  characters  will  be  emphasised  clearly,  later  on,  by 
the  difference  between  the  relations  of  the  two  sisters  to 
the  Master.  From  this  time  on  we  shall  find  its  cause 
*  St.  Matt,  xxvi,  6;  St.  Mark  xiv,  3.  ^  St.  John  xii,  2. 

[317] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

in  the  decisive  fact  that  Martha  had  always  led  the  exem- 
plary life  of  a  woman  faithful  to  her  domestic  duties,  and 
could  not,  therefore,  feel  for  Jesus  that  vivid  affection 
which  was  called  forth  in  Mary  by  a  gifted  nature,  as 
well  as  by  some  most  lamentable  fall  and  better-grounded 
feelings  of  gratitude. 

For  it  is  our  opinion  that  Mary  was  that  Magdalen 
whom  Jesus  had  delivered  from  the  seven  devils,  that  is, 
from  the  sad  life  of  disorder  and  sin  into  which  woman 
falls  when  she  tramples  on  her  own  self-respect  in  order 
shamelessly  to  obey  the  behests  of  passion.  We  have  no 
hesitation  ®  in  identifying  her  with  the  sinner  who,  at  the 
banquet  of  Simon  the  Pharisee,  had  by  her  heroic  repent- 
ance deserved  pardon  for  her  sins  and  merited  a  most 
glorious  rehabilitation. 

It  is  true,  the  Synoptics  have  not  a  single  word  to  sup- 
port our  opinion ;  but  the  simple  motive  of  prudence  is 
sufficient  to  explain  their  reserve.  For  it  was  quite  natural 
that  they,  among  whom  the  Synoptic  tradition  had  its 
source,  should  cover  with  the  veil  of  discretion  the  errors  of 
the  celebrated  woman  who  played  so  important  a  part  in  the 
foundation  of  the  Church,  and  whom  every  one  honoured 
because  of  her  boundless  devotion  to  the  person  and  cause 
of  the  Master.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  in  the  primitive  com- 
munity the  answer  to  this  difficulty  was  known  to  all.  The 
pagans  alone  could  have  been  ignorant  of  it,  and  it  would 
appear  the  part  of  wisdom  to  conceal  from  their  weakness 

'  The  solution  of  this  diflSculty  cannot  be  sought  in  the  Fathers  of  the 
Church.  First  of  all,  they  are  far  from  agreeing  among  themselves,  some 
distinguishing  tliree  persons :  the  sinner,  Mary  Magdalen,  and  Mary,  the  sister 
of  Lazarus ;  others  identifying  the  sinner  with  Mary  Magdalen,  but  refusing 
to  acknowledge  her  as  the  sister  of  Lazarus :  others,  finally,  asserting,  as  we 
do,  that  the  three  are  only  one  person.  But  the  most  sm-prising  thing  is 
that  often  the  same  doctor,  whether  Augustine,  Jerome,  or  Origen,  is  not 
always  of  the  same  mind  himself,  and  changes  his  opinion  in  different  passages 
where  he  treats  this  question.  (See  Baronius,  Annales,  32,  §  18  et  seq.; 
Bolland,  Act.  Sand.,  etc.) 

[S18] 


BOOK  III]  MARTHA  AND  MARY 

and  their  malice  the  scandal  of  a  prostitute  having  be- 
come for  Jesus  a  most  faithful  friend,  and  for  the  nascent 
Church  the  foremost  witness  and  the  eloquent  preacher  of 
the  Resurrection. 

St.  John  wrote  his  Gospel  only  later,  when  the  family 
in  Bethany  had  disappeared,  and  when  the  Church,  for 
her  part,  had  given  the  world  proof  of  her  sanctity.  He 
did  not  feel  himself  bound  to  any  niceties  of  language,  and, 
slipping  in  a  word  in  parenthesis,  as  if  unawares,  he  cleared 
up  the  situation  and  dispelled  all  uncertainty.  In  the  sec- 
ond verse  of  the  eleventh  chapter,  immediately  after  hav- 
ing named  Mary,  the  sister  of  Lazarus,  he  adds :  "And 
Mary  was  she  that  anointed  the  Lord  with  ointment  and 
wiped  His  feet  with  her  hair."  Surely  if  this  singular 
evidence  of  affection  and  respect  had  been  given  to  Jesus 
by  two  different  women  it  was  not  right  to  make  it  the 
distinctive  sign  and  special  merit  of  one  of  them.  Our 
observation  is  peculiarly  true,  if,  at  the  time  he  speaks, 
he  intended  to  characterise  her  by  an  act  which,  in  the  his- 
torical order,  she  has  not  yet  performed,^  whereas  the 
other  has  already  long  since  accomplished  hers.  The  allu- 
sion, thus  anticipated,  is  scarcely  intelligible.  It  is  quite 
natural,  on  the  contrary,  if  it  refers  to  the  past  event  which 
tradition,  as  written  down  by  St.  Luke,^  had  made  famous 
throughout  the  whole  Church,  and  in  which  the  sinner  had 
obtained  her  pardon. 

Whoever  studies  the  question  without  prejudice  must 
find  it  quite  improbable  that  two  women,  on  different  occa- 
sions, should  have  taken  the  notion  to  loosen  their  hair, 
and  with  it  to  wipe  the  Master's  feet,  after  having 
anointed  them  with  ointment  in  which,  the  first  time,  tears 
had  been  mingled.     But  as,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  im- 

^  It  is  only  in  ch.  xii  that  St.  John  relates  the  anointing  at  Bethania. 
8  St.  Ltike  vii,  36-50. 

[319] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [paht  second 

possible  to  reduce  both  anointings  to  one,  since  they  are 
characterised  by  different  details,  one  feels  forced  to  say 
that  it  was  one  and  the  same  woman's  heart  that  devised 
this  twofold  demonstration  of  love  and  of  humility  that 
commands  our  admiration.  It  seems  altogether  natural 
that,  when  the  Master  was  on  the  point  of  quitting  earth, 
the  illustrious  penitent  of  Magdala,  now  the  faithful  and 
privileged  friend,  should  have  wished  to  repeat  the  touch- 
ing scene  of  sorrow  and  of  mercy  in  which  her  poor  soul 
had  regained  its  life.  There  is  in  it  even  this  shade  of 
extreme  delicacy  that,  the  second  time,  Mary  derives  from 
the  consciousness  of  full  rehabilitation  a  pious  daring  of 
which  she  would  have  been  incapable  at  first.  She  who 
formerly  had  anointed  only  the  feet,  then  covered  His  head, 
too,  with  her  ointment,  venturing  to  look  upon  it  without 
a  blush  and  even  to  touch  it  with  respect.  In  her  eyes 
she  no  longer  had  tears,  because  in  her  heart  she  bore  the 
sweet  quietude  of  a  holy  love.  Even  if  we  should  grant 
that  her  life  was  a  blameless  one,  what  could  be  the  pur- 
port of  describing  this  sister  of  Lazarus,  as  coming  into 
the  midst  of  the  banquet  to  undo  her  hair,  as  a  faithless 
woman  does  before  the  priest,  seeking  thus  to  humble  to 
the  vilest  of  services  that  which  in  her  had  not  sinned? 
Such  an  act  would  be  no  less  strange  in  a  virtuous  girl 
than  it  is  significant  and  sublime  in  the  woman  of  sin  ask- 
ing pardon  or  generously  recalling  the  pardon  already 
obtained. 

Jesus  honoured  her  by  declaring  that  her  memory  would 
be  celebrated  wherever  the  Gospel  was  preached.  But  is 
it  not  true  that  this  promise  made  to  Lazarus's  sister  has 
been  exactly  fulfilled  in  Mary  Magdalen?  Is  not  she  al- 
ways the  first  named  among  the  holy  women,'*  as  St.  Peter 

« St.  Luke  viii,  2;  xxiv,  10;  St.  Matt,  xxvii,  56,  61;  xxviii,  1;  St.  Mark  xv, 
40,  47;  xvi,  1,  9.     St.  John  himself,  although  making  an  exception  once 

[  320  ] 


BOOK  III]  MARTHA  AND   MARY 

is  among  the  Apostles  ?  To  hesitate  to  identify  Mary,  the 
sister  of  Lazarus,  with  Magdalen,  would  be  to  assert  that 
this  woman,  otherwise  so  ardent,  so  well-beloved,  so  faith- 
ful, had  no  special  part  in  the  great  scenes  of  the  Passion 
and  the  Resurrection  ;  it  would  be  equivalent  to  saying  that 
she  had  not  the  strength  to  bring  to  its  conclusion,  when 
the  Master  was  dead,  that  generous  embalmment  which 
she  had  begun  during  his  life.^^  All  this  seems  scarcely 
reasonable.  Moreover,  there  is  a  strong  moral  argument 
in  favour  of  our  position  in  the  very  attitude  of  this 
woman,  who  can  never  encounter  Jesus  without  seeking  to 
place  herself  at  His  feet,  as  if  she  deserved  to  occupy  no 
other  spot  in  His  presence  than  that  very  one  where  she 
had  once  gained  His  goodwill  and  His  mercy !  Whether 
she  listens  or  supplicates,  wherever  she  meets  Him  Whom 
she  loves  it  is  always  at  His  feet  that  she  is  found.^^ 
Martha  does  not  do  this,  because  in  her  life  she  has  neither 
the  same  regrets  nor  the  same  consolations. 

At  any  rate,  it  must  be  agreed  that  if,  on  the  one  hand, 
there  is  nothing  unlikely  in  admitting  that,  by  her  ardent, 
demonstrative  love,  Mary,  the  sister  of  Lazarus,  reminds 
us  absolutely  of  the  generous  emotions  of  the  pardoned 
sinner,  on  the  other,  both  of  these  women  are  to  be  found 
admirably  personified,  with  all  their  courage  and  tender 
attachment  to  Jesus,  in  that  Magdalen  who,  from  the  even- 
ing on  Calvary  to  the  morning  of  the  Resurrection,  is  ever 
the  most  faithful  and  most  valiant  of  all.     Therefore,  it 

by  naming  Magdalen  in  the  third  place  (xix,  26),  because  he  placed  the 
Saviour's  mother  first  and,  with  her,  her  sister  or  sister-in-law,  Mary  Cleo- 
phas,  returns  to  this  order  in  xx,  1  and  18,  where  of  all  the  holy  women  he 
mentions  only  Magdalen.  The  primitive  Church  gave  her  the  title  icranoor- 
r6\ou,  as  if  she  had  been  equal  to  the  Apostles,  and  St.  Modestus  qualifies  her 
as  apxvy^s,  making  her  the  chief  of  the  group  of  women,  as  Peter  was  of 
the  group  of  men. 

'"St.  John  xii,  7;  St.  Mark  xiv,  8;  St.  MaU.  xxvi,  12. 

"  St.  Luke  x,  39;  St.  John  xi,  3^2;  xii,  3;  xx,  17. 

[321  ] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

is  not  possible  to  suggest  difficulties  on  the  score  of  psy- 
chology here,  and  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  us  logically 
from  identifying  all  three.  To  divide,  on  the  other  hand, 
that  part  of  generous  friendship,  which  accompanies  the 
Master  from  His  Galilean  ministry  to  His  final  glorifica- 
tion, among  a  succession  of  persons  having  nothing  in 
common  with  each  other  would  render  Magdalen's  unusual 
devotion,  as  well  as  jNIary's  exceptional  situation  in  the 
family  in  Bethany,  inexplicable;  this  would  throw  back 
into  the  shadow,  immediately  after  having  shown  it  forth, 
the  ravishing  picture  of  the  penitent  and  rehabilitated 
woman  of  sin. 

According  to  the  tradition  of  the  Rabbis,  Martha's  sis- 
ter had  at  an  early  date  been  married  to  one  of  Herod's 
officers.  Her  husband's  jealousy,  no  less  than  the  frivolity 
of  her  own  heart,  had  unfortunately  engaged  her  in  that 
train  of  adventures  in  which  woman  rarely  halts  until  she 
has  come  to  know  the  depths  of  the  abyss.  It  was  at  Mag- 
dala  that  she  had  given  herself  up  to  the  most  shameful 
misconduct,  and  it  was  there  too,  as  we  have  seen,  that  the 
Saviour's  grace  had  purified  her.  From  that  moment  the 
group  of  Apostles  had  learned  to  esteem  her  whom  Jesus 
had  been  pleased  to  reinstate  with  such  renown.  Magda- 
len— she  had  retained  this  name,^^  which  perpetuated  the 

'^  We  have  no  doubt  that  Magdalen  is  derived  from  Magdala.  It  was  in 
Gahlee  that  Mary  first  appeared  with  this  surname ;  we  may  conclude,  there- 
fore, that  she  received  it  there  in  remembrance  of  the  locaHty  that  was  scan- 
dahsed  by  her  misconduct.  Many,  however,  have  thought  to  find  the  deriva- 
tion of  this  quahfying  word  in  gadal  ("  to  twist,"  "  to  curl  "),  in  the  piel 
form,  and,  in  fact,  we  find  Miriam  Magaddela,  Mary,  the  hair-dresser,  men- 
tioned by  the  Rabbis.  (See  Lightfoot,  Hor.  Hebr.  in  Matt,  xxvi,  56,  and 
Harm.  Evang.  in  Luc.  viii,  3.)  The  importance  which  the  sinful  woman 
seemed  to  attach  to  her  hair  would  support  this  explanation,  if  tlie  former 
were  not  the  more  natural  one.  Origen  takes  the  word  gadal  as  meaning 
"  to  be  great,"  and  translates  it:  "  Mary  the  Great,"  because  of  the  part  this 
illustrious  believer  had  played  in  the  primitive  Church.  {Tract,  in  Matt. 
XXXV.)  St.  Jerome  (Epist.  ad  Principiam)  derives  the  signification  of  the 
surname  from  migdal  ("  tower  "),  and  is  of  the  opinion  that  it  was  desired,  in 

[322] 


BOOK  III]  MARTHA  AND   MARY 

memory  of  her  faults  and  of  her  repentance — joined  the 
holy  women  who  were  accompanying  the  Master,^  ^  and, 
at  the  very  outset,  attained  the  foremost  place  by  her  zeal, 
intelligence,  and  courage.  Nothing  could  be  more  natural 
than  to  find  her  here,  not  following,  but  preceding  the 
Master  on  His  way  to  Jerusalem.  Nothing  could  be  more 
dehghtful  to  her  than  to  provide  generous  hospitality  for 
the  Master  and  His  disciples  in  her  own  family,  where  by 
her  extraordinary  conversion  she  had  deserved  to  be  re- 
instated.    Martha  must  have  shared  this  legitimate  desire. 

On  examining  the  various  details  of  the  Gospel  narra- 
tions, one  is  inclined  to  conclude  that  great  comfort  reigned 
in  this  house  in  Bethany.  We  shall  see  there  the  resur- 
rection of  Lazarus  magnificently  celebrated  by  a  crowded 
banquet.  The  family  possessed  a  monumental  sepulchre 
cut  in  the  face  of  the  cliff.  We  may  suppose  that  the 
home-furnishings  were  sumptuous,  since  Mary  discovered 
among  them  an  alabaster  vase.  The  exquisite  ointment 
with  which  this  was  filled  reveals  likewise  undeniable  habits 
of  luxury  and  comfort.  Excellent  relations  joined  these 
two  sisters  to  the  principal  leaders  of  the  religious  party 
in  Jerusalem ;  and  this  is  a  proof  that  the  men  of  this 
family  had  played  an  important  part  in  their  country. 
For  around  the  bier  of  Lazarus  we  shall  see  the  Jews — that 
is,  in  the  ordinary  meaning  which  St.  John  assigns  to  this 
word,  the  party  of  the  opposition.  Scribes,  elders  of  the 
people,  chief-priests,  Pharisees  of  every  rank — who  come 
to  share  in  the  mourning  and  to  bear  to  the  two  sisters  their 
friendly  condolence. 

And  yet,  withal,  the  true  charm  of  this  home  lay  in  the 
hearts  of  the  two  women  who  dwelt  there,  of  whose  lovable 

givang  this  name  to  Mary,  to  signalise  the  firm  and  robust  faith  which  had 
made  her,  as  it  were,  an  unshaken  tmver,  in  the  midst  of  the  hesitation  of  the 
Apostolic  circle.  '^  St.  Luke  xxiii,  55. 

[323] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

characters  St.  Luke  gives  us,  as  it  were,  an  artist's  rapid 
sketch  in  outline. 

As  the  Master  enters,  both  set  about  receiving  Him;^'* 
but  as  soon  as  He  begins  to  speak  for  the  purpose  of 
instructing  His  disciples,  Mary  stops  her  work  and  takes 
her  place  among  them.  Near  to  those  blessed  feet,  which 
she  had  once  wet  with  tears,  she,  absorbed  in  delight,  re- 
ceives spiritual  nourishment,  and  pays  no  further  atten- 
tion to  the  final  details  of  the  banquet.  This  attitude, 
wherein  devotion  is  joined  with  tender  famiUarity,  is  quite 
in  keeping  with  Magdalen's  character.  She  is  accustomed, 
more  than  her  sister,  to  see  the  Master  close  at  hand,  to 
divine  His  real  wishes,  and  to  respond  to  the  advances  of 
His  grace.  Her  soul,  more  finely  balanced  than  Martha's, 
is  better  prepared  to  gather  and  to  render  fruitful  any 
lessons  of  sublime  spirituality.  That  is  why  she  eagerly 
seeks  them.  She  has  learned  this  desire  or  this  knowledge 
of  perfection  in  tears  of  sorrow  and  in  bursts  of  gratitude 
which  her  sister  has  never  known.  For  her  all  things  must 
wait  until  she  has  cared  for  her  long-neglected  soul;  and 
she  is  certain  of  pleasing  the  Master  better  by  listening 
to  Him  than  by  serving  Him.  If  she  owed  it  to  her 
respect  for  her  guest  to  set  to  work  to  prepare  Him  a 
fitting  welcome,  she  has  done  so ;  Jesus,  Who  now  begins 
to  speak  in  order  to  distribute  the  bread  of  life,  gives  her 
to  understand  that  her  part  as  ministrant  is  ended,  and 
that  of  disciple  begins.  Hers  is  a  quickly  understanding 
heart.  If  her  sister,  as  a  most  careful  and  almost  vain 
mistress  of  the  house,  deems  something  more  to  be  neces- 
sary for  the  harmony  of  the  banquet,  Mary  leaves  her 

'^  There  are  two  indications  to  show  tliat  Mary  had  helped  effectively  in 
preparing  for  tliis  reception:  the  words  ^  koJ  trapaKaQiaaaa  signify  that, 
after  ha\ing  worked,  Mary  also  had  sat  down;  and  Martha  saying:  "Lord, 
hast  Thou  no  care  that  my  sister  hath  left  me  alone  to  serve  ?  "  is  a  final  proof, 
for  she  admits  that  Mary  had  aided  awhile. 

[824] 


BOOK  III]  MARTHA  AND  MARY 

free  to  seek  her  pleasure  wherever  she  may  find  it.  Hers 
is  at  the  feet  of  Him  Who  at  this  moment  is  giving  out 
the  nourishment  of  the  soul,  and  she  most  wisely  permits 
herself  to  be  served  instead  of  serving  herself. 

The  Master  Who  speaks  sees  no  harm  in  this.  Mar- 
tha, however,  is  troubled  by  it.  Nothing  seems  to  her  good 
enough  for  the  honourable  reception  which  she  has  pre- 
pared or  which  is  suddenly  demanded,  for  her  excitement 
would  lead  one  to  think  that  Jesus,  Whose  coming  was  an- 
nounced sooner  or  later,  had  in  realit}"^  arrived  unexpect- 
edly. Engrossed  in  the  care  of  the  thousand  details  which 
courtesy  requires  and  vanity  exaggerates,  she  hurries  to 
and  fro  like  the  wind,^^  regretting  that  she  cannot,  like 
the  others,  listen  to  Jesus'  discourse.  The  solicitude  that 
occupies  her  mind  prevents  her  from  even  understanding 
the  little  she  hears  in  passing.  Her  sister,  however,  con- 
tinues to  enjoy,  at  her  ease,  the  Master's  conversation. 
Her  enviable  calmness,  the  privileged  seat  which  she  occu- 
pies, and  finally  that  instinctive  discontent  which  one  feels 
in  living  side  by  side  with  fortunate  people  without  shar- 
ing in  their  good  fortune,  end  in  causing  to  burst  forth 
the  anger  of  her  who  is  tiring  herself,  while  others  are 
taking  their  rest.  Suddenly,  in  the  midst  of  her  hurry, 
Martha  halts  before  the  Master,^®  and  in  a  voice  of  loving 
reproach,  penetrated,  nevertheless,  by  a  touch  of  piquancy, 
she  accuses  her  sister  of  being  too  selfish,  and  Jesus  of 
being  almost  partial.  "Lord,  hast  Thou  no  care,"  she 
says,  "that  my  sister  hath  left  me  alone  to  serve.''  Speak 
to  her,  therefore,  that  she  help  me."     Such  is  the  petty 

^'  This  is  signified  by  the  word  rvpfidCri,  which  Jesus  employs  to  describe 
her  concern. 

''  The  term  iniffraffa,  which  should  be  translated  "  having  stood  up," 
depicts  the  natural  attitude  of  a  woman  reproaching  her  companions  for 
taking  too  much  repose,  while  she  herself  is  becoming  exhausted  in  doing 
alone  the  work  of  two. 

[325] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

satisfaction  demanded  by  her  self-love;  since  Jesus  does 
not  appear  to  notice  that  the  one  is  working  while  the  other 
does  nothing,  He  will  be  forced  Himself  to  punish  the  latter 
by  paying  homage  to  the  activity  of  the  former.  This 
is  the  best  means  of  withdrawing  Mary  at  once  from  the 
happiness  she  is  enjoying.  On  the  other  hand,  it  will  be 
a  good  lesson  for  her ;  for,  coming  from  the  lips  of  the 
Lord  Himself,  it  will  undeceive  her  who  deems  herself 
praiseworthy  for  sitting  in  ecstasy  at  His  feet.  Such  is 
the  punishment  suddenly  imagined  by  Martha,  and  she 
already  flatters  herself  that  she  has  obtained  it. 

But  Jesus  with  a  single  glance  sounds  the  depths  of 
the  soul  of  this  woman  who,  in  other  respects  above 
reproach,  judges  wrongly  of  the  present  situation.  He 
charitably  gives  her  the  lesson  for  which  she  seeks,  and 
it  is  for  her  to  profit  by  it.  "Martha,  Martha,"  ^^  He 
says  to  her,  "thou  art  careful  and  art  troubled  about  many 
things.  But  one  thing  is  necessary.  Mary  hath  chosen 
the  better  part,  which  shall  not  be  taken  away  from  her." 
Thus,  with  an  adroitness  equalled  only  by  the  justice  of 
His  rebuke,  the  Master  fulfilled  the  part  of  Judge  which 
was  offered  to  Him.  Martha  was  desirous  of  a  little  humil- 
iation for  her  sister,  and  she  has  succeeded  only  in  bring- 
ing it  upon  herself.  ]\Iary  is  praised  for  having  divined 
that  the  best  part  of  the  banquet  was  that  of  the  nourish- 
ment of  the  soul.  She  did  well  to  choose  it  courageously ; 
and  it  is  in  the  power  of  no  one,  not  even  of  her  anxious 
and  discontented  sister,  to  take  it  from  her.  As  for  Mar- 
tha, if  she  desires  to  behave  wisely  and  so  please  the  Master, 
she  has  only  to  follow  Mary's  example  and  to  sit  down  like 

^^  The  name,  twice  repeated,  summons  her  who  bears  it  to  reflect,  that 
she  may  examine  herself  and  see  who  is  in  error.  Thus  Jesus  also  says  to 
Peter:  "Simon,  Simon,  behold  Satan,"  etc.;  and  to  Paul:  "Saul,  Saul,  why 
persecutest  thou  Me?"  In  this  form  of  warning,  firmness  is  cloaked  in  an 
amiable  tone  of  tenderness. 

[326] 


BooKiu]  MARTHA  AND  MARY 

her  and  share  in  the  spiritual  feast.  What  was  needed  for 
the  material  repast  was  prepared  long  since;  to  worry 
about  the  preparation  of  w"hat  is  superfluous  and  for  the 
sake  of  this  to  refuse  to  listen  to  a  discourse  which  is  the 
best  morsel  of  the  banquet,  is  folly.  Martha  should  accuse 
not  her  sister,  but  her  oavh  vanity,  which  moves  her  to  si- 
lence her  desire  of  the  divine  word,  and  to  prefer  the  fleet- 
ing approbation  of  the  guests  to  the  goods  of  the  soul 
which  alone  are  worth  seeking.  Mary's  attitude  is  to  be 
admired  and  imitated.  Since  all  that  is  necessary,  accord- 
ing to  Jesus'  amiable  play  on  the  word,  is  assured  for  the 
body,  let  it  now  be  made  certain  for  the  soul.  However 
scarce  the  meats  on  the  table,  the  guests  shall,  nevertheless, 
succeed  in  satisfying  their  needs ;  but  if  in  their  hearts 
there  is  a  lack  of  religion  they  can  never  be  saved.  Thus, 
with  His  customary  graciousness,  Our  Lord  was  pleased  to 
acknowledge  by  useful  lessons  the  hospitality  aff'orded  Him. 


[327] 


CHAPTER    V 

JESUS    TEACHES   HIS   DISCIPLES 
HOW   TO   PRAY 

The  Disciples  and  the  Theory  of  Prayer  —  The 
Lord's  Prayer:  the  Invocation,  the  Six  Petitions 
IN  Particular  and  in  Their  Relations,  the  Con- 
clusion— The  Efficaciousness  of  Prayer  Proved 
BY  the  Example  of  the  Importunate  Friend — The 
Paternal  Goodness  of  God.  (St.  Luke  xi,  1-13;  St. 
Matthew  vi,  9-13;  vii,  7-11.) 

The  pilgrim  who  visits  to-day  El-Azarieh,  the  ancient 
Bethany,  can  hardly  form  any  idea  of  what  this  ugly  little 
village  must  have  been  in  former  times.  Adversity  has 
overtaken  it  and  desolation  surrounds  it  on  every  side. 
However,  its  site  on  the  slope  of  a  hill,  looking  toward  the 
east  and  the  south,  made  it  certain  of  warm  sunshine  in 
winter  and  a  refreshing  breeze  in  summer.  The  few  trees 
that  have  survived  the  general  ruin,  the  flowers  that  be- 
sprinkle the  fields  and  that  the  children  delight  in  making 
into  pretty  bouquets  which  they  present  to  passers-by,  the 
figs,  the  olives,  the  almonds,  and  other  fine  fruits  gathered 
here,  attest  that  there  might  once  have  been  in  this  valley 
a  trim  little  town  full  of  charm  and  life.  The  road  to 
Jericho,  always  well  frequented,  ran  through  it,  Bethany 
meant  probably  "the  house  of  dates,"  and  the  ruins  of  cis- 

[  328] 


BooKiii]  JESUS  TEACHES  DISCIPLES 

terns  found  everywhere  mark  the  location  of  numerous 
villas.  There  in  the  midst  of  palms,  sycamores,  and  fig- 
trees,  the  rich  families  of  Jerusalem  sought  shelter  from 
the  heat  of  midsummer.  The  landscape,  beautified  by  all 
that  the  hand  of  man  could  add  in  verdure  and  luxuriant 
vegetation  around  picturesque  dwellings,  was  an  oasis  of 
peace  and  rest  at  the  gates  of  the  capital.  We  can  see 
how  Jesus,  welcomed  by  a  devout  and  pious  family,  was 
happy  to  dwell  there,  and  we  can  easily  imagine  Him,  on 
the  terrace  of  one  of  these  white  houses,  with  the  restful- 
ness  which  watchful  friends  assured  Him,  discoursing  with 
His  hearers  on  the  most  sublime  and  subtle  questions  of 
the  spiritual  life. 

Far  from  the  multitude  hungry  for  miracles,  and  from 
the  Pharisees  ever  ready  to  show  their  ill-will,  the  disciples 
enjoyed  at  ease  the  conversation  of  their  youthful  Master. 
The  devoted  hostesses  of  Bethany,  by  their  attention  and 
their  desire  to  learn,  excited,  no  doubt,  the  emulation  of 
the  others.  It  is  not  unusual  for  an  intelligent  woman 
to  bring  a  laudable  ardour  into  the  discussion  of  religious 
questions.  In  the  search  for  truth  she  readily  becomes 
impassioned,  and  often  her  natural  disposition,  aided  by 
the  light  it  receives  from  the  heart,  makes  her  a  remark- 
able disciple  in  the  eyes  of  the  Master  to  Whom  she  listens. 
It  is  certain,  at  any  rate,  that  the  Apostles,  filled  with 
great  zeal,  seem  henceforth  to  have  been  most  eager  for 
instruction.  We  see  them  questioning  the  Master  and  giv- 
ing Him  the  theme  which  He  must  treat  in  order  to  respond 
to  their  desires. 

Thus,  according  to  St.  Luke,  one  day  just  as  He  had 
finished  praying — Jesus'  prayer  did  not  consist  in  a  per- 
petual elevation  of  the  soul  toward  God,  He  poured  out 
His  soul  in  positive  supplications  before  His  Father — 
all,  admiring  the  ecstatic  ardour  of  His  prayer,  piously 

[  329] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

grouped  themselves  about  Him.  Unable  to  imitate  His 
fervour,  they  would  like  to  know  at  least  the  secret  of  it. 
One  of  them  said  to  Him:  "Lord,  teach  us  to  pray,  as 
John  also  taught  his  disciples."  ^  John  had,  according 
to  this,  given  a  form  of  prayer  to  his  disciples  and,  per- 
haps, it  was  one  of  them  who,  at  present  an  Apostle — 
there  were  several  such — spoke  thus  to  Jesus.  The  Mas- 
ter, with  the  graciousness  that  made  His  whole  person 
so  attractive,  answered :  "When  you  pray,  say : 

"  'Our  Father  Who  art  in  heaven !'  " 

One  feels  that,  by  this  invocation,  the  head  of  man,  bent 
for  so  many  ages  beneath  the  heavy  yoke  of  the  law,  rises 
up  with  a  holy  dignity  in  confidence  and  in  love.  Israel 
had  known  Jehovah  as  Master,  but  had  never  dared  to 
invoke  Him  as  Father.^  It  is  the  Incarnaiion  and  the  sacri- 
fice of  the  Cross  that  make  mankind,  possessed  and  cleansed 
by  the  Word,  henceforth  not  merely  the  servant,  but  the 
child  of  God.  In  these  two  words,  "Our  Father,'^  are 
spoken  the  two  sentiments  that  should  inspire  the  Chris- 
tian soul  in  prayer:  filial  love  for  God,  its  Father,  and 
fraternal  love  for  the  Christian  community  with  whose 
interests  its  own  are  identified.  How  broad  the  horizon 
and  what  grandeur  in  him  who  thus  begins  his  suppli- 
cation ! 

He  speaks  to  a  Father  unlike  the  fathers  of  earth.' 
That  is  why  he  strengthens  his  confidence  by  the  thought 
that  this  Father  reigning  in  heaven  is  all-good,  all-know- 
ing, all-powerful,  and  that  He  must  necessarily  hear  His 
children.     Heaven  is  not  the  vault  dotted  with  bright  bod- 

'  This  request  suggests  the  belief  that  Jesus  had  not  as  yet  formulated  any 
set  model  of  prayer  for  His  disciples.  In  this  case  it  was  simply  by  an 
association  of  ideas  easily  understood  that  St.  Matthew  introduced  into  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount  his  fragment  concerning  the  way  to  pray. 

^  If,  in  the  Old  Testament,  God  is  qualified  as  Father,  this  is  in  relation 
to  the  whole  people  and  not  in  relation  to  individuals.  (Isa.  Ixiii,  16; 
compare  Ps.  ciii,  13.)  ^  Ep}ies.  iii,  15 ;  iv,  7. 

[330] 


BOOK  III]  JESUS  TEACHES  DISCIPLES 

ies  that  unrolls  above  our  head,  but  the  mysterious  region 
where,  beyond  all  that  our  eye  can  see  or  our  intellect  can 
grasp,  dwells  the  invisible  Cause  of  the  universe. 

Six  petitions — there  may  be  seven,  if  we  subdivide  the 
last  ^ — sum  up  all  the  desires  that  should  exist  in  a  re- 
ligious heart.  The  three  petitions  that  refer  to  God's  in- 
terests come  first.  Thus  man  proves  that  he  can  silence  his 
egotism,  and  give  utterance  first  of  all  to  his  filial  love 
for  His  Father  in  heaven.  The  others  correspond  to  the 
various  needs  of  our  nature.  We  must,  however,  acknowl- 
edge that  whatever  adds  to  the  glory  of  God  will  be  also 
for  the  happiness  of  man,  and,  in  turn,  whatever  is  granted 
to  man  will  increase  the  glory  of  God.  The  interests  of 
Creator  and  of  creature  are  so  identical  that  to  advance 
the  former  is  also  to  provide  for  the  latter.  For  God's 
will  which  is  fulfilled  on  earth  becomes  man's  good;  and 
the  temptation  that  man  repels  turns  to  the  honour  of  God. 

"Hallowed  be  Thy  name !" 

The  name  is  the  person  represented.'^  To  respect  a 
name  is  to  honour  him  who  bears  it.  The  Christian  begs 
that  God's  great  name  may  be  venerated  by  mankind.  It 
will  be  the  more  venerated,  the  clearer,  the  purer,  and 
the  more  complete  our  idea  is  of  the  Being  it  represents. 

*  By  the  word  bid,  which  joins  it  to  the  preceding  petition,  and  by  the  simi- 
larity of  the  desire  it  expresses,  the  seventh  petition  can  indeed  be  identified 
with  the  sixth.  It  is  true  we  thus  sacrifice  the  number  seven,  which  has  a  sym- 
bolical meaning.  But  the  parallelism  then  becomes  perfect.  The  sLx  desires 
of  the  faithful  soul  are  divided  into  three  for  the  glory  of  God  and  three 
for  the  interests  of  man.  In  St.  Luke  xi,  2,  the  real  and  primitive  text, 
according  to  the  best  manuscripts,  was  shorter :  "  Father,  hallowed  be  Thy 
name.  Thy  Kingdom  come.  Give  us  this  day  oiu-  daily  bread.  And 
forgive  us  our  sins,  for  we  also  forgive  every  one  that  is  indebted  to  us.  And 
lead  us  not  into  temptation."  There  were,  then,  only  five  petitions.  The 
two  others  were  added  by  copjnsts  to  make  it  like  the  text  of  St.  Matthew 
(vi,  9-11),  who  reproduces  more  faithfully  the  form  given  by  Jesus.  This 
difference  between  the  two  Evangelists  proves  that  they  did  not  draw  from 
a  written  source — they  would  then  have  been  identical — but  from  soiu"ces 
arising  from  oral  tradition  and  admitting  the  possibility  of  variants. 

^  Isa.  vi,  3;  xxix,  23;  Ezech.  xxxvi,  23,  etc. 

[331] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [p.uit  second 

Therefore  this  wish  imphes  the  desire  to  see  God  better 
and  better  known  in  His  attributes,  which  constitute  His 
infinite  perfection.  Then,  man,  contemplating  in  the 
depth  of  his  conscience,  better  still  than  in  the  rest  of 
creation,  the  splendid  image  of  the  Creator  with  His  ideal 
beauty,  will  exclaim  with  the  Seraphim :  "Holy,  holy,  holy, 
the  Lord  God  of  hosts."  He  will  speak  His  name  only 
with  that  respect  which  is  due  to  His  incomparable  sanctity. 

"Thy  Kingdom  come !" 

What  an  admirable  cry  of  love  and  impatience,  uttered 
to  Him  Who  directs  men  and  events !  A  respected  name 
does  not  suffice  for  God's  glory.  It  were  little  merely  to 
be  known  and  even  honoured  by  men,  if  this  God  did  not 
intervene  directly  as  King  among  mankind.  His  throne 
must  have  its  place  among  us.  This  will  be  prepared  by  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel.  The  diffusion  of  grace  by  the 
Holy  Ghost  will  definitively  establish  it  by  founding  the 
Church.  But  we  must  needs  pray  each  day  that  God  may 
force  Himself  into  our  souls  as  King,  that  He  may  enter 
into  us  with  His  sceptre  to  guide  us,  with  His  potent  vigi- 
lance to  guard  us,  with  His  paternal  love  to  save  us.  As 
His  Kingdom  broadens,  so  His  glory  increases,  and  so 
salvation  becomes  more  general  in  the  world.  How  good 
it  is  for  the  soul  to  perceive  that  with  the  coming  of  such 
a  kingdom  there  come  also  deliverance  from  all  evil  and 
the  approach  of  all  good ;  especially  when  it  recollects  that 
death,  leading  to  eternity,  will  change  our  sweet  state  of 
temporary  subjection  to  such  a  Master,  into  the  happy 
and  unending  service  of  heaven.  For  this  petition  does 
not  stop  with  the  present  life,  it  aims  at  the  future  life 
also;  and  justly  so,  for  in  its  fulness  the  Kingdom  of  God 
overspreads  time  and  eternity. 

"Thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven !" 

Just  as  the  pure  notion  of  God  must  bring  on  His  King- 
[332] 


BOOK  III]  JESUS  TEACHES   DISCIPLES 

dom,  so  this  Kingdom  should  make  His  will  the  will  of 
all  men.  Are  we  able  to  will  anything  better  than  what 
God  wills?  His  will  is  enlightened  by  His  infinite  knowl- 
edge, and  controlled  by  His  eternal  reason.  Can  man  pro- 
cure a  more  perfect  rule  than  this?  He  should  then  seek 
first  to  know  it,  and,  knowing  it,  he  should  follow  it,  in 
spite  of  all  obstacles  that  may  arise  from  passion,  native 
weakness,  and  the  suggestions  of  the  demon.  Thus  he  shall 
associate  his  life  with  the  divine  life  itself,  following  the 
same  law  and  guided  by  the  same  will.  This  the  Angels 
do  in  heaven. 

Such  is  the  ideal  of  the  world,  as  we  should  wish  to  have 
it  in  reality :  the  Heavenly  Father,  God,  known  and  hon- 
oured. His  Kingdom  established.  His  will  absorbing  all  the 
wills  of  men.  Nothing  more  beautiful  can  be  imagined, 
nothing  grander,  nothing  more  divine. 

But,  that  this  may  come  to  pass,  man  must  needs  live; 
he  must  obtain  from  God  pardon  for  the  past  and  all- 
powerful  aid  for  the  present.  Prius  est  esse,  say  the 
philosophers ;  but  mere  existence  does  not  suffice  in  order 
to  work  efficaciously  for  God's  glory;  one  must  be  just, 
and  consequently  cleansed  of  his  faults ;  and,  finally,  he 
must  avoid  evil  and  do  good.  Hence  the  believer's  motive 
in  speaking  of  himself  in  the  second  part  of  the  Lord's 
Prayer.  But  to  keep  it  free  from  egotism,  he  speaks  here 
in  the  name  of  all  his  brethren.  Thus,  uniting  to  the 
love  of  God  true  charity  for  his  neighbour,  his  prayer 
will  be  the  divine  law  realised  in  the  most  inward  part  of 
man  the  religious  movement  of  the  heart. 

"Give  us  this  day  our  supersubstantial  ^  bread." 

°  It  has  always  been  found  difficult  to  translate  the  adjective  qualifying 
the  word  bread.  The  term  ivioixriou,  as  Origen  observes  (de  Oral.,  27),  is 
a  neologism  of  the  Evangelists.  "It  is  found,"  he  says,  "neither  in  the 
language  of  the  learned  nor  in  that  of  the  unlearned."  It  was  coined  by 
those  who,  wishing  to  teach  the  Lord's  Prayer  in  Greek,  could  find  no  other 

[333] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [pakt  second 

There  is  something  touching  in  this  fihal  trust  with 
which  each  day  we  put  forth  our  hands  to  Providence,  Hke 
humble  mendicants,  and  ask  the  nourishment  needful  for 
body  and  soul.  One  without  the  other  cannot  make  us 
perfect  men ;  mens  sana  in  corpore  sano  are  words  of  an- 
cient wisdom.  The  faithful  man  humbly  asks  for  bread. 
He  knows  well  that  God  will  not  give  it  without  some 
accompanying  gift.^  It  is  for  to-day  that  he  asks  it;  he 
recollects  that  for  the  morrow  he  must  not  worry.  He 
desires  only  what  is  sufficient,  without  superfluity ;  sim- 
plicity, evangelical  sobriety  demand  no  more.  If  God 
gives  it  in  superabundance,  He  shall,  indeed,  be  thanked ; 
since  He  shall  have  enabled  us  to  share  it  with  others,  after 
we  have  enjoyed  it  ourselves;  but  should  He  grant  only 
what  is  strictly  enough.  He  shall  even  then  be  loved  and 
thanked.  The  body  shall  consume  the  bread,  the  soul  the 
truth.  For  the  body  are  the  nutriments  of  earth,  for  the 
soul  God,  the  food  of  the  spirits  in  heaven.  As  a  middle 
term  uniting  these  two  extremes,  God  and  material  sub- 
stances, the  Eucharistic  bread,  or  bread  of  heaven,  shall 
nourish  with  Jesus  Christ  Himself,  the  devout  supplicant 
who  has  sought  and  obtained  it. 

term  for  the  Aramean  expression  employed  by  Jesus.  If  it  is  derived  from 
firei/jii,  it  signifies  the  bread  of  the  following  day,  or  of  the  day  that  is 
coming;  thus  it  is  said,  iiriovffa  iifiipa  (Acts  vii,  26;  xxi,  18,  etc.).  It  would 
correspond  to  the  word  maJmr  which  St.  Jerome  says  he  read  in  the 
Gospel  of  the  Hebrews.  But  this  meaning  is  hardly  consistent  with  Jesus' 
words,  which  recommend  us  not  to  worry  for  the  morrow;  and  St.  Luke, 
using  Ka6^fififpav  instead  of  aijfiepoy,  as  in  St.  Matthew,  seems  to  indicate  that 
the  nourishment  of  to-day  is  referred  to  here,  and  not  that  of  the  morrow. 
Many  prefer  to  take  this  disputed  term  as  a  compound  of  eirf  and  ovffla,  ex- 
istence, or  essence,  and  in  this  case  it  would  mean  bread  sufficient  for  exist- 
ence, or,  as  the  Book  of  Proverbs  has  it  (xxx,  8),  the  necessaries  of  life.  The 
observation  of  Saumaise  that  then  it  would  have  to  be  iwovaiov  is  without 
foundation.  'Eirl  frequently  retains  the  iota  before  a  vowel  or  a  diphthong: 
(TTieiKiis,  iirtovpos. 

'  The  Hebrew  word  chem,  which  Jesus  probably  employed,  means  nour- 
ishment in  general.     (Gen.  xviii,  5.) 

[834] 


BOOK  III]         JESUS  TEACHES  DISCIPLES 

"Forgive  us  our  sins,  as  we  also  forgive  every  one  that 
is  indebted  to  us  !" 

Often  this  is  a  great  deal  for  a  man  to  ask,  for  his  faults 
are  grave  and  many ;  but  he  hastens  to  represent  to  God 
that,  although  he  may  not  be  good  himself,  he  relinquishes 
all  debts  that  may  be  due  him.  Would  the  Creator  be  less 
generous  than  His  creature?  Has  He  not  said  that  man 
shall  receive  according  to  the  measure  of  his  giving  to 
others?  On  his  knees,  therefore,  his  hands  crossed  upon 
his  breast,  with  sorrow  in  his  heart,  the  prodigal  son  every 
day  begs  his  Father's  favour,  although  he  cannot  abso- 
lutely promise  not  to  "fall  again.  For  if,  in  fact,  he  fall 
again  to-morrow,  he  will  beseech  Him  again,  and  to- 
morrow again  he  shall  be  heard.  It  is  only  when  the 
heart,  angry  and  full  of  hate,  refuses  to  forget  the  wrongs 
of  a  guilty  brother,  that  it  is  forbidden  us  to  seek  for- 
giveness of  our  own  faults  or  even  to  hope  for  it.  If  we 
desire  vengeance  against  one  who  has  injured  us,  it  Is  logi- 
cal that  God,  too,  should  hold  His  suspended  above  our 
heads.     But  if  we  forgive,  God,  too,  will  forgive  us. 

After  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  the  faithful  man  turns 
his  attention  to  the  sins  he  must  avoid.  They  come  by 
temptation.  Temptation  is  not  always  a  test  by  which 
God  tries  man  and  holds  him  to  a  selection  between 
good  and  evil ;  it  signifies  besides,  and  most  frequently, 
the  work  of  the  demon  who  pushes  us  on  to  sin,  alluring 
our  souls  at  times  by  illusions  which  he  brings  into  our 
minds,  at  times  by  the  vile  longings  which  he  excites  in  our 
hearts.  The  trial  that  God  sends  us  is  not  an  evil ;  it  were 
cowardly  to  ask  Him  to  spare  us  that.  The  suggestion 
of  the  devil,  on  the  contrary,  is  always  a  terrible  danger, 
and  it  is  to  this  that  we  must  give  our  attention,  beseech- 
ing the  Heavenly  Father  never  to  deliver  us  up  to  this 
disastrous  influence. 

[335] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

"And  lead  us  not  into  temptation,  but  deliver  us  from 
the  Evil  One."  « 

Such  is  the  malice  of  our  fallen  nature,  that,  if,  in  the 
presence  of  temptation,  God  withdraws  His  saving  hand 
for  a  single  instant  and  leaves  us  to  ourselves,  we  are 
sure  to  fall.^  Even  after  the  Redemption  we  are  but 
freedmen  in  perpetual  fear  of  passing  again  beneath  the 
yoke  of  our  ancient  master.  We  feel  our  weakness,  and 
we  say  to  God :  "Leave  me  not  even  for  a  moment,  for  the 
enemy  would  profit  by  it  to  retake  me.  Help  me  ever  by 
Thy  grace,  and,  when  the  danger  of  sin  is  at  hand,  keep 
desire  from  me,  and,  if  it  be  in  me,  save  me  from  the 
danger." 

Thus  we  may  sum  up  in  two  groups,  each  containing 
three  parallel  petitions,  the  most  varied  desires  of  a  prayer- 
ful heart.  We  have  here  a  whole  world  of  wishes.  If  we 
analyse  closely  the  petitions  of  each  series,  we  shall  easily 
observe  that  the  first  is  addressed  to  the  Father,  the  second 
to  the  Son,  and  the  third  to  the  Holy  Ghost.  It  is  the 
Father's  name  that  is  to  be  sanctified,  and  it  is  the  Father, 
the  Creator  of  the  world.  Who  is  to  give  our  daily  bread. 
It  is  the  Kingdom  of  the  Son  that  is  to  come,  and  it  is  the 
Son  again  Who,  by  His  Redemption,  is  to  pardon  all 
offences.  It  is  the  will  or  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  that 
is  to  govern  hearts,  and  again  it  is  the  Spirit  Who,  by 
grace,  is  to  deliver  us  from  the  tempter  and  his  suggestions. 

And  yet,  with  all  its  perfection,  Jesus  seems  to  have 
let  fall  from  His  lips  this  incomparable  masterpiece  of 
divine  knowledge,  of  piety,  of  feeling,  as  one  merely  paus- 

^  The  expression  rov  irovnpov  may  be  taken  also  in  the  neuter  sense  and 
be  translated,  "deliver  us  from  evil."  Authorities  among  the  ancients,  as 
among  the  moderns,  are  divided  in  opinion.  In  preferring  the  masculine 
and  concrete  sense,  we  rely  on  analogous  passages:  St.  Matt,  v,  37;  xiii, 
19:  St.  John  xvii,  15;  I  Epist.  of  St.  John  ii,  13;  iii,  8,  12;  Rom.  xvi,  20; 
Ephes.  vi,  16;  II  Thessal.  lii,  3.  "  fiom.  i,  24,  26-28, 

[336] 


BOOK  III]         JESUS  TEACHES  DISCIPLES 

ing  to  exemplify  for  children  who  seek  an  explanation.  It 
is  not  like  a  formulary  which  He  has  prepared  and  intends 
to  enforce  upon  His  disciples.  It  is,  as  it  were,  a  note 
escaping  by  chance  from  the  broad  harmony  that  fills  His 
religious  soul,  a  ray  of  His  interior  light  that  suddenly 
shines  forth,  a  jewel  that  falls  from  His  treasures  of  devo- 
tion ;  but  how  beautiful  it  is,  and  how  splendidly  are  ex- 
pressed in  it  all  the  finest  sentiments  of  the  most  perfect 
religion ! 

It  is  remarkable  that  in  this  model  of  prayer  Jesus 
teaches  us  to  command  rather  than  to  ask.  It  is  by  a 
rapid  series  of  imperatives  that  we  speak  to  God,  an 
evident  proof  that  we  count  on  being  heard.  The  last 
word  which  forms  the  conclusion  ^^  of  the  Lord's  Prayer: 
"Amen,"  ^^  corresponds  with  this  conviction.  "So  shall 
it  be !"  we  say.  God  cannot  resist  the  soul  that  prays 
with  such  filial  confidence.  If  at  times  He  seems  not  to 
hear,  let  us  reiterate  our  supplications.  In  the  end  it  is 
He  Who  will  acknowledge  Himself  vanquished  by  our  per- 
sistency, and  He  will  hear  us. 

'"  In  some  manuscripts  this  admirable  prayer  terminates  with  these  words : 
"for  Thine  is  the  kingdom,  the  power,  and  the  glory."  This  is  probably  an 
interpolation  taken  from  the  htm-gy.  To  be  sm-e,  three  Syriac  versions,  the 
Peschito,  the  Pliiloxenian,  and  that  of  Jerusalem,  as  well  as  the  Ethiopian,  the 
Aramean,  and  tlie  Apostolic  constitutions,  have  this  termination.  But  Gries- 
bach  has  observed  long  since  that  of  all  these,  only  one,  the  Peschito,  dates 
from  beyond  the  fourth  century.  But  the  Peschito  itself,  ha\Tng  been  re- 
viewed at  a  time  much  later  than  that  of  its  first  composition,  according  to  the 
Greek  text,  has  not  sufficient  authority  to  counterbalance  the  testimony  that 
suppresses  this  doxologj'.  Neither  Tertullian,  nor  St.  Cyprian,  nor  Origen, 
nor  any  of  the  other  ancient  Fatliers  of  the  Church,  who  have  expounded  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  have  read  this  conclusion  in  their  manuscripts. 

^'  This  word  is  by  its  origin  an  adjective  in  the  Hebrew  tongue,  signifying 
"  siu-e,"  "  assured,"  "  certain."  Taken  adverbially,  it  is  translated  "  surely," 
"  in  truth."  It  is  thus  used  in  the  beginning  of  a  discourse  or  of  a  clause  in 
the  Old  Testament  {Jerem.  xx\iii,  6),  and  much  more  frequently  in  the  New 
Testament.  At  the  end  of  a  chant  (Ps.  xii,  14;  xxii,  19;  xxxix,  53). 
or  of  a  prayer,  and  consequently  in  the  present  instance,  it  expresses  the  desire 
and  even  the  certainty  of  seeing  realised  what  has  just  been  said.  The 
Septuagint,  in  such  cases,  renders  it  by  ytvotro. 

[337] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

A  short  parable  renders  this  conviction  even  more  easily 
understood.  "Which  of  you  shall  have  a  friend,  and  shall 
go  to  him  at  midnight,  and  shall  say  to  him:  Friend,  lend 
rae  three  loaves,^ ^  because  a  friend  of  mine  is  come  off  his 
journey  to  me,  and  I  have  not  what  to  set  before  him.  And 
if  he  from  within  should  answer  and  say :  Trouble  me  not, 
the  door  is  now  shut,  and  my  children  are  with  me  in  bed ;  I 
cannot  rise  and  give  thee.  Yet  if  he  shall  continue  knock- 
ing, I  say  to  you,  although  he  will  not  rise  and  give  him, 
because  he  is  his  friend,  yet  because  of  his  importunity  he 
will  rise  and  give  him  as  many  as  he  needeth.  And  I  say 
to  you:  Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given  to  you;  seek,  and  you 
shall  find ;  knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened  to  you.  For  every 
one  that  asketh,  receiveth ;  and  he  that  seeketh,  findeth ; 
and  to  him  that  knocketh,  it  shall  be  opened." 

Thus,  then,  is  God  disposed  toward  the  faithful  one, 
who  bears  in  his  heart  the  grace  and  spirit  of  Jesus  Christ. 
He  approaches  us  so  near  as  to  become  a  friend  Whom  we 
can  importune,  and  Whose  hand  we  can  force  by  our  per- 
severance. The  more  deaf  He  seems  to  render  Himself, 
the  bolder  should  our  persistence  be.  Ask,  seek,  knock, 
until  the  end  is  gained;  such  should  be  the  gradation  of 
our  confident  prayer.  It  exposes  our  needs,  it  seeks  the 
gate  by  which  to  reach  the  heart  of  God,  and,  finding  it, 
it  knocks  until  God  opens  and  shows  Himself  propitious 
to  our  desires. 

In  these  conditions  our  prayer  is  always  heard.  Only, 
in  our  petitions,  we  must  not  go  beyond  the  sphere  which 
the  Master  has  just  traced.  If  man  so  far  forgets  him- 
self as  to  ask  for  that  which  is  not  a  real  good,  or  for  that 
even  which  would  be  an  evil,  God  will  not  hear  him.     But 

''This  dialogue  is  most  charmingly  taken  as  spoken  in  the  street.  Of 
the  three  loaves  one  is  for  the  guest,  another  for  the  nost,  and  the  third  for  the 
honour  of  the  table. 

[  338  ] 


BOOK  III]  JESUS  TEACHES  DISCIPLES 

by  His  knowledge  of  our  true  interests,  and  not  for  our 
inconsiderate  desires,  He  Himself  will  choose  that  which 
will  be  most  useful  to  us.  In  this  way  He  often  grants 
a  prayer,  although  He  seems  to  refuse.  "And  which  of 
you,  if  he  ask  his  father  bread,  will  he  give  him  a  stone? 
Or  a  fish,  will  he,  for  a  fish,  give  him  a  serpent.''  Or  if  he 
shall  ask  an  egg,  will  he  reach  him  a  scorpion.''  ^^  If  you 
then,  being  evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  to  your  chil- 
dren, how  much  more  will  your  Father  from  heaven  give 
the  good  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  Him.^"' 

This  kindness  of   the  Father  was   a  consoHng  subject 
which  Jesus  especially  loved  to  treat. 

'^  Bread,  hard-boiled  eggs,  and  salt-fish  constitute  the  ordinary  food  of 
travellers  iu  the  Orient. 


[339] 


CHAPTER   VI 

JESUS   AT   THE   FEAST  OF  THE 
DEDICATION 

The  Signification  of  This  Feast — Jesus  in  Solomon's 
Porch — He  Is  Besought  to  Explain  Himself — 
Jesus'  Response:  "7  and  the  Father  Are  One" — 
The  Anger  of  the  Jews  at  His  Claim  to  Divinity 
— The  Claim  Ought  Not  to  Worry  Them;  Why? 
— Nor  the  Fact — Jesus  Asserts  It  a  Second  Time — 
He  Escapes  from  His  Enemies  and  Leaves  Jerusa- 
lem.     (St.  John  X,  22-39.) 

As  we  have  already  observed,  Jesus  had  another  pur- 
pose in  his  visit  to  Bethany  besides  that  of  resting  at 
the  home  of  His  friends.  It  was  His  desire  to  appear  sud- 
denly in  the  Temple  once  more,  on  the  feast  of  the  Dedi- 
cation, as  He  had  on  the  feast  of  Tabernacles. 

With  ceremonies  that  were  much  alike,^  these  two  festi- 
vals lasted  for  eight  days  each.  The  present  religious 
manifestation  occurred  in  the  latter  part  of  December,  the 
twenty-fifth  of  Casleu.  Judas  Machabeus  had  instituted 
it  after  his  victory  over  the  Syrians,^  to  commemorate  the 

'  Thus  there  were  general  illuminations  in  commemoration  of  the  lights  of 
the  golden  candelabra  and  of  the  lamps  which  had  been  relit  and  kept  by 
a  miracle  of  which  Josephus  makes  mention.  {Antiq.,  xii,  7,  6.)  Hence 
the  name  to  <pwTa.  It  was  more  commonly  called  tA  'EyKoivia,  the  feast 
of  the  Renewal,  or  of  the  Reconsecration,  with  us  the  Dedication. 

'  /  Mach.  iv,  52  et  seq. ;  //  Much,  x,  5-8. 

[340] 


BOOK  III]  FEAST  OF  DEDICATION 

purification  of  the  Temple  and  the  restoration  of  the  altar 
which  had  been  profaned  for  six  years  by  Antiochus 
Epiphanes.  It  was  not  necessary  to  go  to  Jerusalem  to 
celebrate  it,  and  strangers  in  that  city  were  generally  few 
in  number  on  this  occasion.  The  inhabitants  of  the  Holy 
City  were  only  the  more  eager  for  this  reason  to  abandon 
themselves  to  noisy,  patriotic  demonstrations.  Jesus  knew 
in  what  circumstances  He  was  going  to  appear,  and  He 
decided  nevertheless  to  make  another  appeal  to  the  peo- 
ple whom  He  desired  to  recover. 

Therefore,  during  the  course  of  the  festival,  He  betook 
Himself  to  the  Temple.  It  was  bitterly  cold,  being  in 
winter,  and  to  keep  warm  He  walked  to  and  fro  in  Solo- 
mon's porch.  This  splendid  ruin  of  the  ancient  House 
of  God  had  withstood  the  Chaldean  pillages,  and,  at  the 
eastern  extremity  of  the  enclosure,  it  dominated  the  valley 
of  Josaphat.^  Traces  of  it,  it  is  thought,  may  still  be 
found  in  the  enormous  blocks  of  masonry  which,  immova- 
ble even  to-day  after  so  many  disturbances,  seem  to  recall 
the  grand  architecture  of  the  great  King  Solomon,  far 
more  effectively  than  the  precipitate  endeavour  of  a  scanty 
Israelite  colony  returning  from  exile  with  Zorobabel.  For 
a  while  Jesus  was  alone.  Those  blessed  days  had  long 
since  passed  when  the  crowds  pressed  about  Him  with  an 
enthusiasm  that  often  rendered  them  importunate.  Now 
there  was  winter  in  men's  hearts  as  well  as  in  the  atmos- 
phere. The  Jews,  that  is  to  say,  the  leaders  of  the  hier- 
archical party,  taking  advantage  of  His  isolation,  sud- 
denly surrounded  Him.  Their  object  was  to  let  Him  go 
only  after  He  had  been  forced  to  explain  Himself.  After 
all.  His  enemies  felt  that  He  had  been  for  some  time  the 

'  Josephus  {Antiq.,  xx,  9,  7)  calls  it  (ttoo,  avaro\iKii.  This  precision 
as  to  place  and  time  of  scene  continues  to  reveal  an  eye-witness  in  the  author 
of  the  fourth  Gospel. 

[341] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [pakt  second 

great  subject  of  public  thought  even  in  Jerusalem.  His 
recent  stay  at  Bethany,  although  marked  by  silence  and 
meditation,  might  have  served  to  make  Him  known  to  many 
who,  up  to  that  time,  had  been  content  to  look  upon  Him 
with  the  prejudice  of  others.  His  friends  had  at  every 
opportunity  repeated  His  beautiful  lessons  of  wisdom, 
zealously  commenting  on  them  in  order  to  enforce  belief 
in  the  possible  coming  of  the  Messianic  era.  Remembering 
His  miracles,  some  said :  "It  may  be  He !"  Others  indig- 
nantly repelled  the  supposition.  Passions  were  aroused 
for  and  against;  and  this  serves  to  explain  the  eagerness 
with  which  the  representatives  of  the  religious  authority, 
finding  Him  now  almost  alone,  had  hastened  to  surround 
Him.-* 

By  cutting  Him  off  from  His  disciples  and  from  those 
who  might  espouse  His  cause,  they  seemed  to  hold  Him 
already  prisoner  in  the  midst  of  them.  Thus  the  scene 
quickly  became  one  of  extreme  animation.  With  the  first 
word  they  utter  the  Sanhedrists  betray  the  general  excite- 
ment of  minds.  "How  long  dost  thou  hold  our  souls  in 
suspense?"  they  exclaim;  "if  Thou  be  the  Christ,  tell  us 
plainly."  In  this  demand  for  an  explanation  was  there 
nothing  more  than  insidious  malevolence.''  Are  we  to  rec- 
ognise in  it  an  accent  of  sincerity  inspired  by  the  circum- 
stances and  a  real  desire  to  see  a  new  Machabeus  crush  the 
foreigner,  purify  the  Temple,  and  purge  the  Holy  Land 
of  the  Gentiles  who  defiled  it.''  Either  supposition  is 
likely.  Nevertheless,  the  second  derives  special  probability 
from  the  fact  that  the  Jews  agree  that  grave  thoughts 
occupy  their  souls  with  regard  to  Jesus :  they  no  longer 
enjoy  life ;  their  uncertainty  is  become  intolerable.  Besides, 
with  their  false  ideas  as  to  the  Messiah,  the  result  of  their 
questioning  will  remain  the  same  whatever  the  sentiment 

*  The  word  iicvKKaxrcw  expresses  well  the  movement  effected  by  the  Jews. 
[  3-i2] 


BOOK  III]  FEAST  OF  DEDICATION 

that  called  it  forth.  They  desire  a  human,  not  a  heavenly, 
Messiah.  Jesus  will  be  far  from  satisfying  them.  He 
can  but  maintain  what  He  has  said  to  characterise  His  mis- 
sion and  to  bring  to  light  His  divine  personality. 

The  memory  of  the  feast  of  Tabernacles  must  still  be 
fresh  in  the  minds  of  all.  Did  He  not  at  that  time  de- 
clare Himself  to  be  the  personification  of  the  various  types 
which,  according  to  the  prophets,  the  Messiah  was  to 
realise.''  What  is  that  if  not  to  affirm  that  He  was  the 
true  Messiah.''  Therefore,  to  the  pressing  question,  which 
they  ask  Him,  He  makes  only  this  reply :  "I  speak  to  you,^ 
and  you  believe  not:  the  works  that  I  do  in  the  name  of 
My  Father,  they  give  testimony  of  Me."  In  fact,  it  is 
useless  to  ask  what  they  have  heard  repeated  in  so  many 
ways,  and  what  they  may  see  in  works  which  are  as  mar- 
vellous as  they  are  numerous.  But  to  believe  and  to  see 
there  is  required  simplicity  of  heart,  purity  of  the  moral 
eye,  the  laying  aside  of  all  pride  and  prejudice.  Where 
the  interior  dispositions  are  wanting,  neither  the  words 
nor  the  works  of  Jesus  can  bring  conviction.  The  doubts 
of  those  who  question  Him  have  only  one  reason  to  explain 
them,  and  that  is  the  evil  disposition  of  their  souls.  "But 
you  do  not  believe,"  says  Jesus,  "because  you  are  not  of 
My  sheep.  My  sheep  hear  My  voice,  and  I  know  them 
and  they  follow  Me.  And  I  give  them  life  everlasting; 
and  they  shall  not  perish  forever,  and  no  man  shall  pluck 
them  out  of  My  hand."  By  returning  thus,  as  He  was 
wont  to  do,  to  His  last  discourse  uttered  on  the  feast  of 
Tabernacles,  He  proves  clearly  that,  since  that  time,  He 
had  not  reappeared  in  Jerusalem.     The  Evangelist,  too, 

'  There  is  a  very  delicate  shade  of  meaning  in  these  words  of  Jesus.  Since 
they  who  question  Him  do  not  understand  the  word  Christ  in  the  same  sense 
as  He  does.  He  is  unwilling  to  reply  simply:  "Yes."  On  the  other  hand, 
since  He  is  really  the  Christ,  He  cannot  answer:  "No."  He  therefore 
refers  them  to  His  former  declarations. 

[343] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

takes  pains  to  join  both  of  Jesus'  declarations  together 
in  order  to  inform  the  reader  of  the  campaign  undertaken 
by  Him  against  His  enemies  in  Jerusalem.  The  Master, 
therefore,  briefly  recalls  what  He  had  said  concerning  the 
Door  of  the  fold,  the  true  Shepherd,  and  His  sheep.  They 
who  surround  and  interrogate  Him  are  not  of  His  flock; 
still  less  are  they  good  shepherds ;  that  is  why  they  cannot 
hear  His  voice.  In  their  breasts  He  perceives  the  hearts 
of  wolves,  and  His  impression  of  pain  betrays  itself  forci- 
bly in  these  words :  "They  shall  not  perish  forever,  and  no 
man  shall  pluck  them  out  of  My  hand."  He  lacks  neither 
courage  nor  strength;  He  lets  the  robbers  know  it.  To 
defend  them,  He  will  give  His  life's  blood,  and  in  His  love 
He  will  find  an  irresistible  valour.  "My  Father,  Who  hath 
given  Me  them,  is  greater  than  all,^  and  no  man  shall  snatch 
them  out  of  the  hand  of  My  Father.  I  and  the  Father 
are  one."  It  is  a  strong  argument,  for  no  one  can  deny 
that  the  Father  is  more  powerful  than  even  the  fiercest 
wolves.  And,  since  He  has  given  His  sheep  to  His  Son, 
it  is  quite  natural  that  He  should  guard  them  for  Him, 
especially  as  He  Himself  has  not  renounced  the  enjoyment 
of  them ;  the  Son  has  received  them  only  to  purify  them 
and  to  lead  them  back  to  Him  more  faithful.  They  were 
His  yesterday ;  they  are  even  more  so  to-day,  since  they 
are  now  more  attached  and  dearer  to  Him.  From  this  first 
point  of  view,  the  Father  is  the  Son's  natural  ally  against 
the  enemies  of  the  flock.  But  between  them  there  is  not 
merely  a  union  of  interests,  there  is  unity  of  will,  of  power, 
of  wisdom,  in  a  word,  of  all  the  divine  attributes,  because 
there  is  unity  of  essence.  Jesus's  assertion  is  a  whole  theo- 
logical thesis.      In   saying  "I  and  the  Father  are  one," 

'  In  this  translation  we  follow  the  most  probable  reading.  The  manu- 
scripts which  have  &  ZeSwKfy  instead  of  hs  SfSuKty,  and  fiuCoy  in  place  of 
fi(i{uv,  followed  by  the  Vulgate,  create  serious  difficulties. 

[344] 


BOOK  III]  FEAST  OF  DEDICATION 

with  the  word  are  He  indicates  the  distinction  of  persons, 
and  with  the  word  one  the  identity  of  nature.  This,  then, 
is  the  salient  point  of  the  discourse.  Reveahng  His  whole 
thought  and  the  mystery  of  His  person  as  Messiah,  Jesus 
declares  that  He  is  Man-God. 

The  Jews  understood  Him  better  than  the  heretics  of 
later  times.  The  explicitness  of  such  an  affirmation  seemed 
to  them  sacrilegious.  There  was  no  longer  room  for 
doubt ;  Jesus  made  Himself  God's  equal !  This  was  an 
abominable  crime  and  deserved  immediate  punishment.^ 
They  went  in  search  ^  of  stones  with  which  to  stone  the 
divine  blasphemer. 

The  Master  was  unmoved  by  their  wrath.  Alone  in 
the  midst  of  that  angry  crowd.  He  looked  upon  His  ad- 
versaries with  majestic  calmness,  and  with  one  word  caused 
the  stones  to  fall  from  their  hands.  It  proved  that  reason 
still  has  some  power,  even  over  furious  men,  whenever  it 
retains  sufficient  calmness  and  force  to  make  itself  heard. 
"Many  good  works,"  He  says,  "I  have  showed  you  from 
My  Father ;  for  which  of  those  works  do  you  stone  Me  ?" 
The  truth  is  that  it  is  not  for  His  works  but  for  His 
words  that  they  wish  to  put  Him  to  death.  But  do  not 
His  works,  authorised  by  the  supreme  power  of  the  Father, 
confirm  His  words  .f*  For  two  years  has  He  been  produc- 
ing them  as  numerous  as  they  are  astonishing.  The  para- 
lytic, the  man  born  blind,  and  the  many  others  were  but 
eloquent  witnesses  doing  homage  to  the  truth  of  His  teach- 
ings.    But  this  testimony,  instead  of  convincing  the  Jews, 

'  Levit.  xxiv,  10. 

*  The  first  time  (St.  John  viii,  59)  they  had  found  stones  near  at  hand, 
and  had  only  to  seize  them  {^pav),  since  they  were  in  the  enclosure  of  the 
Temple,  where  the  work  of  construction  was  still  going  on.  Now  they  are 
in  the  peristyle,  and  they  are  obliged  to  go  and  seek  them  at  a  distance 
and  bring  them  (ifiitrrcuray).  Only  an  eye-witness  could  have  put  such 
shades  of  meaning  into  his  story. 

[345] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

only  makes  them  the  more  bitter.  They  reply:  "For  a 
good  work  we  stone  Thee  not,  but  for  blasphemy ;  and 
because  that  Thou,  being  a  man,  makest  Thyself  God." 
Their  reasoning  is  false.  They  should  stone  Him  as  much 
for  His  works  as  for  His  words,  for  the  former  are  the 
confirmation  of  the  latter.  If  His  words  are  blasphemous, 
His  works  must  have  been  hes.  The  solidarity  is  too  close 
to  be  misconstrued.  If  they  stone  Jesus  because  He  says 
He  is  God,  when  He  is  not,  they  must  stone  Him,  also,  be- 
cause He  seemed  to  work  miracles  which,  in  reality,  were 
not  such ;  for  no  one  can  conceive  that  God  really  lent  the 
assistance  of  His  almighty  power  to  a  liar.  Therefore, 
since  Jesus  has  falsely  mingled  His  name  in  His  words.  He 
has  also  falsely  assumed  His  power  in  His  works.  The  lie 
is  in  both,  and  they  must  stone  the  Thaumaturgus  for  His 
cures,  as  well  as  the  Teacher  for  His  discourses. 

But  the  Master  pursues  this  argument  no  farther,  and, 
though  He  does  not  say  that  He  is  not  God  and  that  He 
has  never  pretended  to  be  God,  which  would  have  at  once 
dispelled  the  storm  by  clearing  away  the  misunderstand- 
ing. He  proceeds  to  prove  to  them  by  an  argumentum  ad 
homineiriy  changing  the  question  somewhat,  that  they  are 
wrong  in  being  scandalised,  and  that,  even  were  He  not 
God,  He  could  without  blasphemy  attribute  this  name  to 
Himself  on  the  authority  of  the  language  of  Scripture. 
"Is  it  not  written  in  your  law,"  He  adds,  "I  said  you  are 
gods.?  But  if  he  called  them  gods,  to  whom  the  word  of 
God  was  spoken,  and  the  Scripture  cannot  be  broken,  do 
you  say  of  Him,  Whom  the  Father  hath  sanctified,  and 
sent  into  the  world:  Thou  blasphemest,  because  I  said  I 
am  the  Son  of  God.?"  This  was  a  reference  to  a  well- 
known  passage  of  the  Psalmist,^  and  under  the  name  of 
the  Law  He  includes  not  only  the  five  books  of  Moses,  but 

» Ps.  Ixxxi,  6,  7. 
[346] 


BOOK  III]  FEAST  OF  DEDICATION 

all  the  inspired  writings  which  served  as  the  religious  and 
moral  rule  for  the  people  of  God.  All  these  are  for  Him 
the  Scripture  whose  authority  He  proclaims. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  real  intention  of  the  legislation 
of  Moses  was  to  demonstrate  that  certain  personages,  for 
example,  the  father,  the  judge,  the  prince,  had  received  a 
communication  of  divine  dignity,  and  were  representatives 
of  Jehovah.  However,  Jesus  would  not  have  found  there- 
in the  name  of  God  communicated  to  man.  Hence  He 
seeks  His  example  in  the  more  venturesome  poetry  of  the 
Psalms.  These  sacred  chants  were,  moreover,  better  known 
to  all.  Asaph,  in  his  canticle,  after  having  exalted  the 
ideal  greatness  of  the  judges  of  Israel,  denounces  their 
profound  unworthiness,  and  cries  out:  "You  are  gods, 
.  .  .  but  you,  like  men,  shall  die."  But  if  the  Scriptures 
do  not  blaspheme — and  who  would  dare  bring  this  accusa- 
tion against  them.'' — in  giving  the  name  gods  to  ordinary 
judges,  because  they  make  the  application  of  the  divine 
law,  how  is  Jesus  Christ  a  blasphemer  in  calling  Himself 
God,  He  Who  in  this  world  is  the  very  messenger  of  God.'* 
And  He  is  such  a  messenger !  Sanctified  by  the  Father, 
that  is,  marked,  separated,^ °  destined  by  Him,  He  received 
His  mission  before  all  time !  By  that  word  Jesus  hints  at 
His  pre-existence.  For  He  does  not  say  that  He  received 
His  mission  from  God,  which  would  be  to  confess  inferior- 
ity, but  that  He  has  it  from  the  Father,  which  again 
sets  forth  His  divine  nature.  Whence  it  follows  that  the 
Father  and  the  Son  conferred  concerning  the  Redemption 
of  the  world  in  the  secret  intercourse  of  their  eternal  life, 
and  that  the  Father  charged  the  Son  with  the  restoration 
of  that  which  Satan  had  destroyed. 

Thus,  having  silenced  His  adversaries  by  proving  their 

*"  Such  is  the  meaning  of  the  word  sanctified,  according  to  the  Hebrews. 
(Jerem.  i,  5 ;  Ps.  xiii,  3.)    It  is  confirmed  by  St.  Paul.  {Rom.  i,  1 ;  Gal.  i,  15.) 

[347] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

inconsistency,  Jesus  returns  to  His  true  thought.  He 
courageously  acknowledges  that  He  did  declare  Himself 
God,  if  thereby  they  understood  the  Son  of  God  in  the 
most  direct  and  fullest  meaning  of  the  word ;  the  Son,  Who 
does  not  suppress  the  Father,  Who  implies  Him,  and  Who 
is  one  with  Him  in  the  unity  of  nature,  but  in  perfect  dis- 
tinction of  persons.  The  Jews  may  object  that  the  mis- 
sion of  which  He  boasts  has  not  been  proved.  Jesus 
foresees  the  difficulty  and  solves  it  in  advance  by  another 
appeal  to  His  works.  And  so  He  comes  back  to  the  declara- 
tion of  His  divinity  in  terms  quite  as  clear  as  the  first 
time:  "If  I  do  not  the  works  of  My  Father,"  He  says 
gently  enough  to  attract  the  most  ill-disposed,  "believe  Me 
not ;  but  if  I  do,  though  you  will  not  believe  Me,  believe 
the  works,  that  you  may  know  and  believe  that  the  Father 
is  in  Me,  and  I  in  the  Father."  The  consequence  of  this 
new  declaration  is  logical  and  instructive.  If  they  lay 
aside  all  prejudice,  and  consent  to  judge  Him  Who  speaks 
just  as  He  is,  they  will  perceive  the  Father  manifesting 
Himself  in  Him  with  all  his  attributes.  They  will  see 
them  both  joined  in  the  most  intimate  communication  of 
love.  It  is  in  virtue  of  this  unity  of  essence  that  He  de- 
clares Himself  one  with  the  Father.  But,  doing  what  the 
Father  does,  being  in  the  Father,  having  the  Father  in 
Him,  means  simply  that  He  is  God. 

The  hope  of  a  plausible  explanation  had,  for  a  mo- 
ment, checked  the  indignation  of  the  Jews.  Since  this 
explanation  only  accentuates  the  first  affirmation,  their 
whole  fury  is  again  aroused.  They  would  seize  upon  His 
person,  drag  Him  out  of  the  Temple,  and  exact  justice 
for  His  blasphemy.  But,  while  they  were  engaged  in 
planning  to  lay  hold  upon  Him,  Jesus,  by  an  act  of  His 
almighty  power,  or  by  the  intervention  of  His  followers, 
again  escaped  from  their  hands. 

[348] 


CHAPTER    VII 
ON   THE  ROAD  BACK  TO  PERiEA 

Jesus'  Soul  Is  Filled  with  Indignation  Against  the 
Pharisees — An  Occasion  That  Causes  It  to  Burst 
Forth — Maledictions  Uttered  During  a  Repast  at 
THE  House  of  One  of  Them — Grand  and  Beautiful 
Lesson  to  the  Disciples  in  the  Presence  of  the 
Multitude — What  We  Must  and  Must  Not  Fear — 
Jesus  Refuses  to  Intervene  in  a  Division  of  Family 
Goods — Parable  of  the  Foolish  Rich  Man.  (St. 
Luke  xi,  37;  xii,  21.) 

Thus,  with  a  past  full  of  prodigies,  which  was  His  from 
Galilee  to  Jerusalem,  with  the  guarantee  of  a  life  abso- 
lutely pure,  when  He  declared  Himself  the  Son  of  God, 
Jesus  had  succeeded  only  in  scandalising  the  Jews,  and  in 
provoking  their  indignation  to  so  great  an  extent  that 
they  had  sought  to  put  Him  to  death.  Yet  He  was  neither 
a  fool  nor  a  liar.  Even  though  His  perfect  sanctity  had 
not  been  there  to  declare  it,  the  same  conclusion  must  have 
followed  from  the  sanction  that  God  gave  to  His  words. 
It  were  unreasonable,  indeed,  to  admit  that  God  should 
authorise  by  miracles  the  pretensions  of  an  impostor  or 
of  a  lunatic.  Logically,  therefore.  His  testimony,  far 
from  being  rejected,  should  have  been  probed  to  its  deep- 
est meaning  and  accepted  as  a  declaration  from  heaven. 

[349] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

The  people,  left  to  their  own  inclination,  might,  per- 
haps, have  taken  this  course;  but,  managed  by  a  sect,  as 
powerful  as  it  was  adept,  they  promised  to  become  as  per- 
verse as  their  leaders. 

It  was,  then,  on  the  heads  of  the  latter  that  the  great 
and  awful  responsibility  rested.  Thereby  is  to  be  ex- 
plained the  profound  indignation  stirred  up  in  Jesus' 
heart  by  the  attitude  of  the  Pharisaical  party.  Evidently 
the  storm  could  not  fail  to  burst  at  the  first  opportunity. 
This  opportunity  was  sought,  by  the  Pharisees  themselves. 

Jesus,  leaving  Jerusalem  suddenly,  turned  toward  Peraea, 
where  His  apostolate  had  been  temporarily  interrupted.^ 
On  the  way  He  resumed  the  work  of  evangelisation.  A 
Pharisee,  having  heard  one  of  His  discourses,  invited  Him 
to  take  His  morning  ^  meal  at  his  house.  This  was  the 
least  important  meal  of  the  day,  but  the  Prophet  of  Naza- 
reth was  merely  passing  through,  and  they  had  to  take 
Him  when  they  could. 

At  a  moment's  notice  the  host  had  gathered  about  his 
board  several  friends,  members  of  his  sect,  and  a  few 
Scribes,  who  were  more  particularly  desired,  if  the  oppor- 
tunity were  offered,  to  cope  with  the  youthful  Master. 
Such  extraordinary  tales  were  told  of  the  boldness  of  His 
principles  that  they  had  to  expect  anything  and  to  have 
at  hand  legists  who  should  be  capable  of  silencing  Him. 

More  particularly  was  it  asserted  that,  although  He 
spoke  with  unction  the  language  of  holy  men,  and  even 
practised  what  He  preached.  He  held  the  Pharisaical  rites 
to  be  worthy  of  no  esteem.  Could  He  be  really  the  man 
of  God  and  scorn  such  sacred  observances?  And  if  He 
were  not  the  man  of  God,  how  explain  His  incomparable 

'  St.  John  X,  40. 

^  This  is  the  meaning  of  opi<rT^<n;,  which  distinguishes  the  first  meal  of 
the  day  from  the  principal  repast,  SeTwov, 

[350] 


BOOK  III]  ROAD   BACK  TO   PER^A 

teaching  and  His  transcendent  sanctity?  At  the  bottom 
of  all  these  accusations  was  there,  perchance,  naught  but 
the  working  of  envy?  The  Pharisee  was  desirous  of  un- 
derstanding it  all. 

The  Master  divined  his  intentions,  and  was  not  offended. 
With  the  best  of  grace  He  accepted  his  invitation.  As 
He  entered  He  could  see  that  He  was  in  the  midst  of  ene- 
mies disposed  above  all  to  spy  upon  Him  and  to  judge 
Him.  But  He  was  resolute  in  braving  all  the  absurd 
prejudices  of  those  with  whom  He  was  going  to  eat,  and, 
in  order  to  accentuate  from  the  very  beginning  the  differ- 
ence in  ideas  that  separated  Him  from  them.  He  took  pains 
to  go  through  none  of  the  ablutions  customary  among 
Pharisees  in  preparation  for  the  repast.  He  went  straight 
to  the  table,  and  took  His  place  on  the  couch,  without  even 
washing  His  hands.  The  more  ardent  began  to  murmur 
against  this  audacious  protest.  For  them  not  to  wash  the 
hands  was  the  height  of  impiety.  "It  were  better,"  said 
the  Rabbis,  "in  times  of  persecution,  to  die  of  thirst  than 
to  die  the  eternal  death,  for  neglect  of  the  precept  of 
purification;  though  the  jailer  should  give  but  a  drop  of 
water,  it  were  wiser  to  wash  the  hands  therein,  and  then 
to  eat  without  drink."  ^  The  master  of  the  house  now  saw 
with  his  own  eyes  what  he  had  so  often  heard  said.  Jesus 
might,  indeed,  be  a  teacher  strong  in  words,  and  even  irre- 
proachable in  His  private  life ;  yet  in  religion  He  was,  none 
the  less,  a  dangerous  innovator,  the  destroyer  of  the  law, 
and  a  peril  for  true  believers.  The  impression  of  painful 
surprise  which  he  experienced  was  deep.  Though  he  had 
felt  himself  drawn  toward  the  young  Prophet,  he  now  be- 
held himself  suddenly  cut  off  from  Him  by  an  abyss.  But 
it  was  an  abyss  dug  by  Pharisaism.  The  Master  was  sad- 
dened by  it  more  than  he,  and,  letting  forth  from  His  heart 

3  Ervbin,  fol.  21,  2. 
[351] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

the  bitterness  that  filled  it,  in  a  voice  of  holy  anger  He 
denounced  under  Heaven's  curse  the  work  of  these  hypo- 
crites who  robbed  Him  of  souls  under  pretence  of  securing 
their  salvation.  This  discourse  was  the  prelude  of  the 
solemn  anathemas  which  He  was  to  proclaim  later  in  the 
Temple,  and  which  we  shall  analyse  then  all  together,  that 
we  may  lose  nothing  of  their  grandeur  and  awe-inspiring 
beauty. 

In  the  meantime  let  us  remark  that  now  even  the  les- 
son was  severe.  "Now,"  said  Jesus  ironically,  "you  Phari- 
sees make  clean  the  outside  of  the  cup  and  of  the  platter, 
but  within  you  are  full  of  rapine  and  iniquity.  Ye  fools, 
did  not  He  that  made  that  which  is  without,  make  also  that 
which  is  within  .'^  But  give  generously  that  which  is  with- 
in,* and,  behold,  all  things  are  clean  to  you."  For  God 
not  only  has  a  right  to  the  worship  of  the  body,  He  de- 
sires, above  all,  the  homage  of  the  soul.  He  created  the 
latter  as  well  as  the  former ;  and  since,  in  the  human  dual- 
ism, the  soul  is  the  superior  part,  it  is  by  the  soul  espe- 
cially that  God  wishes  to  be  honoured  and  served.  When 
the  soul  is  His,  when  it  thinks,  loves,  and  lives  for  Him, 
the  body  is  sanctified.  Exterior  observances  are  nothing 
compared  with  this  gift  of  the  moral  man.  Jesus  repre- 
sents it  here  as  alms,  in  order  to  manifest  the  need  His 
Father  has  of  being  loved  and  glorified  by  us.  A  man, 
by  the  very  gift  of  his  heart,  purifies  all  the  works  of  his 
body.  While,  on  the  other  hand,  were  he  to  give  all  the 
rest  except  his  heart,  he  could  produce  naught  but  works 
of  hypocrisy  and  crime.  "Woe  to  you,  Pharisees,  because 
you  tithe  mint  and  rue,  and  every  herb,^  and  pass  over 

*  We  have  ventured  to  substitute  here  for  the  unintelligible  rendering  of 
the  Rheims  version  the  literal  English  equivalent  of  the  French  translation 
used  by  Mgr.  I^  Camus. — Translator. 

^  The  law  (Levit.  xxvii,  30 ;  Numb,  xviii,  21 ;  Deitt.  xiv,  22)  obliged  every 
one  to  pay  tithes  of  his  harvests,  as  of  grain,  oil,  wine,  etc.    The  Pharisees, 

[  352  ] 


BOOK  III]  ROAD  BACK  TO   PER.EA 

judgment  and  the  charity  of  God.  Now  these  things  you 
ought  to  have  done,  and  not  to  leave  the  other  undone. 
Woe  to  you,  Pharisees,  because  you  love  the  uppermost 
seats  in  the  Synagogues,  and  salutations  in  the  market- 
place. Woe  to  you,  because  you  are  as  sepulchres  that 
appear  not,  and  men  that  walk  over  are  not  aware." 

These  accusations  fell  like  flaming  thunderbolts  into 
the  midst  of  the  affrighted  guests.  One  of  them,  a  Scribe, 
thought  it  his  duty  to  speak  and  to  attempt,  perchance, 
an  apology.  He  only  succeeded  In  drawing  the  formidable 
outburst  more  directly  on  the  heads  of  the  lawyers,  his  col- 
leagues. He  had  said:  "Master,  in  saying  these  things. 
Thou  reproachest  us  also."  The  Scribes,  in  fact,  almost  all 
belonged  to  the  Pharisaical  sect,  and  they  felt  themselves 
insulted  by  this  angry  attack.  "Woe  to  you,  lawyers, 
also,"  cried  Jesus,  turning  upon  him.  Then  He  stig- 
matised in  turn  their  false  zeal  for  the  law;  their  enthu- 
siasm in  inventing  new  obligations  which  they  imposed  on 
others  without  binding  themselves;  their  fanaticism,  as 
redoubtable  as  that  of  their  fathers  against  the  envoys 
of  God,  and,  in  fine,  the  monopoly  which  they  claimed 
of  religious  science,  prohibiting  the  people  from  being 
instructed  and  themselves  failing  seriously  to  give  in- 
struction. 

Then  He  arose  and  went  out.  The  Pharisees  remained 
at  first  in  confusion,  but  they  soon  let  forth  their  fury 
against  Him  Who  had  just  treated  them  so  harshly,  and, 
in  their  anger,  they  sought  to  overwhelm  Him  with  their 
shameful  accusations.  Pouring  forth  in  a  crowd  into  the 
street,  as  in  formidable  uprising,^  they  surrounded  Him, 
laying  snares  for  Him,  each  one  spying  upon  His  words 

in  order  to  be  distinguished,  went  farther  and  meant  to  prove  their  piety 
by  paying  tithes  on  the  most  insignificant  products,  as  mint,  rue,  anise,  etc. 
°  The  expressions  used  by  the  Evangelist  (verse  64)  give  the  idea  of  a 
hunt  after  a  wild  beast. 

[353] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

or  His  works,  that  they  might  officially  bring  judicial 
action  and  take  their  supreme  revenge. 

Thus,  in  Peraea,  as  in  Jerusalem  and  in  Galilee,  this 
powerful  sect,  no  longer  concealing  its  hostility,  looked 
only  for  an  opportunity  to  put  an  end  to  Him.  War  was 
plainly  declared  and  accepted  on  either  side. 

Jesus,  accustomed  to  these  threatening  demonstrations, 
which  were  a  continuation  of  those  in  the  Temple,  stood, 
calm  and  full  of  authority,  in  the  midst  of  the  crowd 
attracted  by  the  noise  of  this  violent  scene.  Severe  in  His 
majesty,  He  turned  and  said  to  His  disciples:  "Beware  ye 
of  the  leaven  of  the  Pharisees,  which  is  hypocrisy."  On 
other  occasions  He  had  pointed  out  this  redoubtable  enemy, 
but  with  closed  doors,  so  to  speak,  and  in  private  inter- 
course. But  now  He  publicly  unmasks  and  brands  it  loudly 
and  pitilessly.  "For,"  He  says,  "there  is  nothing  covered 
that  shall  not  be  revealed ;  nor  hidden  that  shall  not  be 
known.  For  whatsoever  things  you  have  spoken  in  dark- 
ness, shall  be  published  in  the  light;  and  that  which  you 
have  spoken  in  the  ear  in  the  chambers,  shall  be  preached 
on  the  housetops."  This  free  speech  will,  no  doubt,  give 
rise  to  danger ;  one  cannot  brave  the  wicked  with  impunity 
when  they  have  brute  force  at  hand;  but  what  matters 
that.!'  "And  I  say  to  you.  My  friends,"  Jesus  goes  on, 
"be  not  afraid  of  them  who  kill  the  body,  and  after  that 
have  no  more  that  they  can  do.  But  I  will  show  you  Whom 
you  shall  fear;  fear  ye  Him  Who,  after  He  hath  killed, 
hath  power  to  cast  into  hell.  Yea,  I  say  to  you,  fear 
Him."  There  are,  then,  two  deaths  possible,  death  in  time 
and  death  in  eternity ;  for  man  has  two  lives,  one  which 
passes  and  one  which  shall  never  pass.  If  the  first  be 
taken,  what  has  he  lost  ?  Nothing ;  it  is  a  dream ;  the  other 
only  is  the  reality.  The  true  evil  would  be,  therefore,  to 
lose  this  latter.     It  is  lost  when  man  is  condemned  to  live 

[354] 


BOOK  III]  ROAD   BACK  TO   PER^A 

it  apart  from  his  beginning  and  his  end,  which  is  God.  But 
he  cannot  be  condemned  to  this  punishment  by  the  wicked, 
whatever  may  be  their  hatred;  to  the  supreme  Judge  be- 
longs the  exclusive  right  to  regulate  our  eternity  in  keep- 
ing with  our  works.  The  wicked  can  kill  the  body ;  we 
alone  are  masters  of  our  souls,  and  it  is  in  the  fulness  of 
our  liberty  that  we  prepare  God's  judgment. 

This  philosophy,  which  was  to  furnish  the  courage  of 
martyrdom  to  future  generations,  was  most  beautiful  In 
its  simplicity.  How  often  the  victims  have  said  to  their 
torturers:  "We  fear  you  not.  Seek  you  our  blood?  Be- 
hold it.  Our  souls  still  remain,  and  they  are  wholly  ours. 
Think  you  to  kill  us?  You  give  us  life.  Your  power 
over  us  shall  end  with  our  last  breath,  and  that  same 
breath  shall  inaugurate  our  eternal  freedom ;  against  those 
who  have  departed  this  life  you  are  powerless." 

To  this,  the  first  and  chief  reason  for  fearing  not,  Jesus 
adds  another :  it  is  that  nothing,  even  In  this  life,  happens 
without  God's  permission.  "Are  not  five  sparrows,"  He 
says,  "sold  for  two  farthings,''^  and  not  one  of  them  Is 
forgotten  before  God?  ^  Yea,  the  very  hairs  of  your  head 
are  all  numbered.  Fear  not,  therefore;  you  are  of  more 
value  than  many  sparrows."  If  Providence  keeps  watch 
over  the  little  birds  for  which  He  provides  food  each  day, 
how  much  greater  reason  He  has  to  care  for  His  children ! 
If  God  knows  the  number  of  our  hairs,  It  is  a  proof  that 
He  pays  more  heed  to  our  bodies  than  we  do  ourselves. 

^  In  the  time  of  Cicero  this  farthing  was  worth  about  a  cent  and  one- 
fifth  of  United  States  money.  Two  farthings  were,  therefore,  equal  to 
two  and  two-fifths  cents.  In  the  parallel  text  in  St.  MattJiew,  two  birds 
are  valued  at  only  one  farthing.  This  is  somewhat  dearer,  perhaps,  because 
five  were  proportionately  cheaper  than  two.  This,  however,  has  no  im- 
portance except  in  discussing  certain  theories  on  the  absolute  accuracy  of 
the  sacred  writers. 

*  This  expression  before  God  betrays  the  Aramean  source  whence  St.  Luke 
borrows  this  passage. 

[355  ] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

Therefore,  no  man  can  put  us  to  death  without  His  know- 
ledge and  His  will.  But,  if  He  wills  it,  it  is  for  our  greater 
good. 

"And  I  say  to  you,"  Jesus  continues,  completing  thus 
the  argument  that  must  sustain  the  courage  of  His  fol- 
lowers, "whosoever  shall  confess  Me  before  men,  him  shall 
the  Son  of  Man  also  confess  before  the  Angels  of  God." 
The  reward  is  well  worth  the  martyrdom  it  shall  have 
cost.  Before  the  attentive  and  admiring  assembly  of 
heaven,  Jesus  shall  acknowledge  His  own.  What  glory, 
then,  for  those  valiant  soldiers  in  being  placed  by  their 
Chief  in  the  ranks  of  the  brave  for  all  eternity !  In  spite 
of  the  most  violent  persecutions,  they  shall  have  pro- 
claimed to  all  tyrants  and  to  all  executioners  that  Jesus 
was  their  Lord  and  their  God;  Jesus  will  declare  before 
His  Father  and  before  the  Angels  that  they  are  His  friends 
forever.  "But  he  that  shall  deny  Me  before  men,"  adds 
the  Master,  "shall  be  denied  ^  before  the  Angels  of  God." 
This  suffices  to  make  His  friends  courageous. 

As  He  finished  speaking,^ *^  some  one  in  the  multitude 
appealed  to  His  authority  in  a  matter  that  seemed  to  be 
of  deep  import  to  him.  It  was  a  question  of  family  affairs. 
From  the  fact  that  Jesus  had  been  able  with  impunity  to 
overthrow  His  adversaries,  and  to  impress  His  moral  su- 
periority upon  the  astonished  crowd,  this  man  thought 
that  no  one  would  dare  to  deny  His  judgment  in  the  law 
case  which  He  wished  to  submit  to  Him.  "Master,"  he 
said,  "speak  to  my  brother  that  he  divide  the  inheritance 

*  It  has  been  justljf  remarked  that  in  this  case  it  is  no  longer  the  Son  of 
Man  Who  directly  intervenes,  as  when  it  was  a  matter  of  glorifying  the 
faithful.  The  sentence  is  fulfilled  of  itself.  The  renegade  finds  in  eternity 
that  which  he  has  freely  chosen  in  time,  separation  from  his  Creator  and  his 
God. 

*"  Verses  10,  11,  and  12  are  better  placed  in  St.  Matthew.  We  therefore 
suppress  them  here. 

[356] 


BOOK  III]  ROAD   BACK  TO  PERiEA 

with  me."  What  reason  had  the  holder  of  the  succession  ^^ 
for  refusing  to  divide?  There  is  nothing  from  which  to 
tell.  It  is  not  even  certain  that  this  plaintiff  had  any- 
real  rights  to  enforce.  It  may  be  that  he  thought  him- 
self injured  although  the  strictest  justice  had  been  ob- 
served. However  that  may  be,  Jesus  was  indignant  at 
seeing  him  press  his  claim  for  half  of  a  wretched  succes- 
sion on  earth,  when  He  was  offering  the  whole  of  an  incom- 
parable inheritance  in  heaven.  "Man,"  He  said,  "who  hath 
appointed  Me  Judge  or  divider  over  you.''"  For  it  was 
not  to  busy  Himself  with  earthly  interests  that  the  Son 
of  God  had  clothed  Himself  with  our  humanity,  and,  if 
His  disciples  must  not  even  take  the  time  to  regulate  their 
family  affairs,  much  less  shall  the  Master  deign  to  delay 
to  discuss  those  of  others.  The  request  of  this  man,  al- 
though paying  homage  to  the  superior  authority  of  Jesus, 
issued  from  a  most  worldly  heart ;  and  hence  the  Saviour 
meets  it  with  a  response  of  holy  indignation.  The  great- 
est danger  to  a  soul  is  base  cupidity,  which  pitilessly  stifles 
in  it  all  desire  of  divine  truth. 

The  Master  at  once  takes  up  this  pernicious  vice :  "Take 
heed  and  beware  of  all  covetousness ;  for  a  man's  life  doth 
not  consist  in  the  abundance  of  things  which  he  possess- 
eth."  Thus,  taking  His  stand  at  the  same  thoroughly 
human  point  of  view  as  he  who  appeals  to  Him,  He  pro- 
ceeds to  prove  to  him  that  there  is  no  need  of  great  wealth 
in  order  to  live,  and  that,  even  with  great  riches,  no  one 
can  escape  death.  Why,  then,  permit  avarice  to  take  root 
in  the  heart,  since  all  that  there  is  of  temporal  goods  can- 
not make  life  either  happier  or  longer.? 

To  make  the  truth  of  this  lesson  of  wisdom  easier  to 

11  According  to  Moses  (Deut.  xxi,  7),  the  eldest  son  had  a  double  share 
of  the  inheritance,  with  the  obligation  of  caring  for  his  mother  and  his 
unmarried  sisters.  The  younger  sons  sometimes  took  their  portion  in 
money,  and  hence  there  might  be  motives  for  a  revision  of  the  sharing. 

[357] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

understand,  Jesus  employs  the  following  parable:  "The 
land  of  a  certain  rich  man  brought  forth  plenty  of  fruits." 
The  proprietor,  surprised  by  this  sudden  and  almost  un- 
expected turn  of  fortune,  at  first  experienced  extreme  sat- 
isfaction at  the  sight  of  such  great  riches.  But  these 
latter  inevitably  have  their  thorns,  and  it  was  not  long 
ere  he  felt  their  points.  Care  always  grows  in  direct 
proportion  with  the  goods  one  owns.  "And  he  thought 
within  himself,  saying.  What  shall  I  do  because  I  have  no 
room  where  to  bestow  my  fruits  ?"  He  was  engrossed  with 
a  multitude  of  plans ;  as  if,  when  store-houses  fail,  there 
were  not  always  the  famished  stomach  of  the  poor,  the 
hand  of  the  widow,  the  mouth  of  orphans,  to  receive  the 
superabundance  of  the  harvest.  But  the  rich  man  desired 
to  become  yet  richer,  and,  at  the  end  of  all  his  reflections, 
the  fortunate  owner  decided  thus :  "This  will  I  do :  I  will 
pull  down  my  barns,  and  will  build  greater ;  and  into  them 
will  I  gather  the  produce  of  my  fields  and  my  goods.  And 
I  will  say  to  my  soul" — the  centre  of  his  satisfaction,  his 
joy,  his  affection — -"Soul,  thou  hast  many  goods  laid  up 
for  many  years,  take  thy  rest,  eat,  drink,  make  good  cheer." 
For  the  most  part  good  fortune  prepares  the  way  to  ma- 
terialism, and  nearly  always  begets  a  pleasure-loving  gen- 
eration as  evil  as  it  is  stupid.  What  folly,  merely  because 
one  is  rich,  to  count  on  the  future !  We  are  not  even  mas- 
ters of  to-morrow.  How  ready  we  are  to  conceive  long 
hopes  and  vast  ideas !  We  wish  to  buy,  to  build,  to  lend, 
to  restore,  to  be  honoured,  and,  in  the  end,  as  the  philoso- 
pher ^^  says,  after  the  works  of  a  troubled  life,  to  rest 
our  old  age  in  the  comfort  prepared  by  countless  labours. 
How  senseless !     The  man  in  the  parable  promised  himself 

'^Seneca,  Epist.,  101:  "Emam,  sedificabo,  credam.  exigam,  honores 
geram;  turn  demum  lassam  et  plenam  sanitatem  in  otiiim  referam !"  This 
whole  letter  is  worth  quoting  as  a  noble  lesson  of  wisdom  in  a  pagan. 

[358] 


BooKm]  ROAD  BACK  TO  PER^A 

the  joys  of  prosperity  unto  extreme  old  age;  but,  in  the 
very  midst  of  the  dehghtful  dream  which  he  cherished,  the 
voice  of  God  broke  in  to  tell  him  that  Heaven's  decree  was 
otherwise :  "Thou  fool,  this  night  do  they  require  thy  soul 
of  thee."  He  had  proudly  said  "my  soul,"  as  if  that  soul 
were  his,  and  lo,  suddenly  it  is  to  be  taken  from  him.  The 
illness  that  unexpectedly  comes  upon  us  is  God  summon- 
ing us  and  making  known  to  us  our  sentence  of  death. 
Then  the  awful  voice  puts  this  question,  which  spreads  a 
deep-felt  bitterness  through  the  heart  of  the  dying :  "And 
whose  shall  those  things  be  which  thou  hast  provided.''" 
In  any  case,  they  shall  not  be  for  him  who  has  centred 
in  them  all  his  hopes.  The  rich  man,  snatched  from  earth 
and  borne  off  to  a  world  where  material  treasures  may  not 
follow  him,  in  the  poet's  words,  shall  enter  there  naked 
and  despoiled  of  all : 

Haud  ullas  portabis  opes  Acherontis  ad  undas 
Nudus  ab  inferna,  stulte,  vehere  rate.^^ 

Ungrateful  strangers,  it  may  be  a  prodigal,  will  devour 
on  earth  what  he  was  prematurely  obliged  to  leave.  "So," 
concludes  Jesus,  "is  he  that  layeth  up  treasure  for  him- 
self, and  is  not  rich  toward  God."  Men  want  wealth  for 
their  comfort  and  their  pride,  but  it  eludes  them.  They 
who  have  sought  it  and  possessed  it  only  for  God,  acting 
here  below  as  the  representatives  of  His  Providence,  bear 
it  away  with  them  into  the  future  life.  The  former,  in 
the  desire  of  keeping  all,  have  lost  all ;  while  the  latter,  by 
giving  all,  have  ended  by  retaining  all. 

^^  Propertius,  iii,  5,  13. 


[359] 


CHAPTER    VIII 

LESSONS  OF  WISDOM  AND  EFFUSIONS 
OF  PIETY 

Teachings  on  Abandonment  to  the  Paternal  Kind- 
ness OF  God — Simple  and  Touching  Reasons  That 
Favour  It — Our  Treasure  Should  Be  in  Heaven 
— Another  Series  of  Teachings  on  Christian  Vigi- 
lance— Parable  of  the  Servants  Awaiting  Their 
Master — The  Son  of  Man  Comes  Like  a  Thief — 
Peter's  Question  —  The  Two  Stewards  —  Jesus 
Utters  the  Thoughts  That  Oppress  His  Heart — 
The  Flame  Which  He  Is  Come  to  Bring  Into  the 
World — The  Hour  of  the  Conflict  Approaches — 
They  Do  Not  Understand  Him.  (St.  Luke  xii,  22- 
59;  St.  Matthew  vi,  25-33;  vi,  19-21;  xxiv,  43-51; 
X,  34-36.) 

Here,  according  to  St.  Luke,  is  the  natural  place  for 
a  succession  of  holy  counsels  addressed  by  Jesus  to  His 
disciples,  which  St.  Matthew  has,  for  the  most  part, 
attached  to  other  discourses.^ 

^  Thus  one  part  is  found  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  (St.  Matt,  vi,  25-33 ; 
19-21 ) ;  another  in  the  ad\'ice  given  to  the  Apostles  (x,  34-36) ;  another,  in  fine, 
in  xxiv,  43-51.  How  explain  this  capricious  distribution  of  fragments  in 
St.  Matthew  and  the  general  grouping  in  St.  Luke,  if  they  both  drew  from 
a  common  written  source,  or  if  they  knew  each  other's  Gospel?  The  hypothe- 
sis of  an  oral  Gospel  alone  can  solve  the  difficulty. 

[360] 


BOOK  III]  LESSONS  OF  WISDOM 

These  recommendations  are  not  for  the  multitude,  like 
those  that  precede.  They  are  addressed  to  the  disciples.^ 
One  must  have  faith  in  order  to  comprehend  and  to  con- 
sent to  practise  them.  Let  the  world,  with  no  thought 
of  eternity,  become  attached  to  earthly  goods ;  we  can 
understand  that.  Heedless  of  any  Father  above,  it  consti- 
tutes a  Providence  unto  itself.  For  believers,  this  cannot 
be.  Their  duty  is  to  leave  all  and  to  go,  without  human 
aid,  to  spread  the  truth  in  the  world,  resigning  themselves 
utterly  to  God's  fatherly  care  for  the  needs  of  each  day. 
Their  wisdom  consists  in  striving  to  make  sure  of  eternal 
life,  and  in  scorning  all  else.  What  persuasive  charm  and 
what  sweetness  in  the  words  of  Jesus,  Who  is  about  to 
demand  from  them  the  sacrifice  of  the  closest  ties  and  the 
heroism  of  the  most  complete  self-denial ! 

"Therefore,"  He  observes  to  them,  "I  say  to  you,  be 
not  solicitous  for  your  life  what  you  shall  eat;  nor  for 
your  body  what  you  shall  put  on.  The  life  is  more  than 
the  meat  and  the  body  than  the  raiment."  He  who  has 
given  the  greater  gift,  can  well  promise  the  lesser :  if  God 
has  given  life.  He  can  sustain  it,  and  if  He  has  made  our 
body.  He  can  clothe  it.  That  which  costs  us  so  much 
pain  and  worry  to  acquire.  He  gives  as  if  unconscious  of 
it.  From  His  creating  hands  food  and  raiment  come  to 
beings  who  know  not  even  how  to  ask  them.  For  far 
greater  reason  shall  all  this  be  given  to  servants,  to  chil- 
dren who  glorify  their  Father  and  place  in  Him  their 
sweetest  trust !  "Consider  the  ravens," — they  certainly 
are  not  the  most  useful  nor  the  most  pleasing  birds  of 
the  air,  and  for  this  reason,  no  doubt,  the  Saviour  men- 
tions them  here — "for  they  sow  not,  neither  do  they  reap ; 
neither  have  they  store-house  nor  barn ;  and  God  f eedeth 
them.     How   much    are   you   more    valuable   than   they !" 

'  St.  Luke  xii,  22,  says  so  clearly :  irphs  tovs  fiaO-nr^i  avrov. 

[361] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [pakt  second 

God  cannot  assign  to  man  a  harder  lot  than  to  His  small- 
est creatures.     Let  us  never  forget  that. 

Moreover,  as  it  is  wise  to  trust  ourselves  to  Providence, 
Who,  in  the  very  nature  of  things,  assists  us,  so  it  were 
the  part  of  foolishness  to  count  on  our  own  activity,  which, 
without  God,  would  remain  ever  powerless.  "And  which 
of  you,"  continues  the  Master,  "by  taking  thought  can 
add  to  his  stature  one  cubit.''  If  then  ye  be  not  able  to 
do  so  much  as  the  least  thing,  why  are  you  solicitous  for 
the  rest  ?  Consider  the  lilies,^  how  they  grow ;  they  labour 
not,  neither  do  they  spin.  But  I  say  to  you,  not  even 
Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was  clothed  like  one  of  these.  Now 
if  God  clothe  in  this  manner  the  grass  that  is  to-day  in 
the  field,  and  to-morrow  is  cast  into  the  oven,^  how  much 
more  you,  O  ye  of  little  faith!"  Thus  the  Master,  with 
that  delightful  poetry  innate  in  beautiful  souls,  borrowed 
from  the  flower  that  blossomed  at  His  feet,  from  the  bird 
that  flew  through  the  air,  the  most  graceful  images  to 
throw  into  intelligible  form  the  secrets  of  His  divine  phi- 
losophy. The  argument,  strong  in  its  lovable  ingenuous- 
ness, was  irrefutable.  The  great  king  himself,  who  with 
his  pomp  had  astonished  the  East,  and  of  whom  Israel 
always  spoke  as  the  most  magnificent  prince  and  the  one 
most  dear  to  national  pride,  Solomon,  placed  side  by  side 
with  the  red  anemone  or  with  the  lily,  spreading  their 
corollas  in  the  sunlight,  was,  indeed,  but  indiff'erently  clad. 
The  hands  of  the  daughters  of  Tyre  or  of  Sidon  weaving 

^  We  cannot  say  whether  He  speaks  here  of  the  white  lily,  which  seems  to 
have  been  somewhat  rare  in  Palestine — (some,  however,  are  found  near 
Jaffa.  See  Strand,  Flor.  Palest.,  though  we  have  never  seen  any) — or  of 
the  red  lily  of  which  Pliny  speaks  {H.  N .,  xxi,  5),  and  which  was  less  rare 
in  the  coimtry.  Perhaps  Jesus  meant  simply  the  beautiful  red  anemone 
{anemxyiu  coronaria),  which  is  the  common  flower  of  the  country. 

*  In  the  East,  for  lack  of  wood,  they  heat  their  ovens  with  the  tall  grass 
from  the  field.  These  ovens,  as  is  well  known,  are  earthen  pans  of  small 
dimensions. 

[  362  ] 


BOOK  III]  LESSONS   OF  WISDOM 

his  rich  tunic  were  far  below  that  infinite  art  with  which 
nature  forms  the  petals  of  the  flower  and  arranges  its  shin- 
ing stamens  like  a  crown  consecrating  its  royalty  of  the 
field.  In  spite  of  all  the  fuller's  care,  the  tunic  of  the 
son  of  David  had  not  the  whiteness  of  the  lily,  and  his 
purple  cloak  paled  before  the  Hvely  brilliancy  of  the 
anemone.  Yet  what  efforts,  what  combinations,  what  re- 
searches for  the  clothing  of  the  great  king !  While  each 
day  God,  as  if  for  mere  amusement,  clothes  numberless 
flowers  which  with  their  beauty  eclipse  the  most  marvellous 
tissues  of  human  industry.  But  these  flowers  have  only 
a  mediocre  importance  in  the  history  of  the  world ;  man 
scarcely  notices  them  as  he  treads  on  them,  and  to-morrow 
they  become  dry  grass  that  is  cast  into  the  fire.  If  God 
creates,  nourishes,  and  clothes  the  flowers,  with  so  much 
care  for  the  adornment  of  the  earth,  can  we  suppose  that 
He  will  leave,  hungry  and  unclad,  man,  who  is  His  royal 
master-work  here  below,  and  who,  knowing  his  Author, 
consecrates  himself  to  His  service.'' 

"And  seek  not  you,"  concludes  Jesus,  "what  you  shall 
eat,  or  what  you  shall  drink ;  and  be  not  lifted  up  on  high. 
For  all  these  things  do  the  nations  of  the  world  seek.  But 
your  Father  knoweth  that  you  have  need  of  these  things." 
Thus  authentically  does  He  separate  from  incredulous 
Jews  and  ignorant  Gentiles,  who  are  the  world,  His  disci- 
ples, who  are  the  family  of  God,  the  privileged  flock  which 
He  will  tell  in  a  voice  of  tenderness  to  advance  along  its 
way  without  fear  of  being  abandoned. 

"But,"  He  exclaims,  "seek  ye  first  the  Kingdom  of  God 
and  His  justice,  and  all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto 
you."  Can  the  Father,  W^ho  to  His  own  gives  grace  in 
time  and  glory  in  eternity.  Who  consequently  gives  Him- 
self, forget  to  provide  them  their  daily  bread.''  No,  He 
shall  let  them  want  for  nothing.      "Fear  not,  little  flock," 

[363] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [paht  second 

Jesus  adds,  with  an  affectionate  glance  at  His  group  of 
faithful  disciples,  "for  it  hath  pleased  the  Father^  to  give 
you  a  kingdom.  Sell  what  you  possess,  and  give  alms. 
Make  to  yourselves  bags  which  grow  not  old,  a  treasure 
In  heaven  which  faileth  not,  where  no  thief  approacheth, 
nor  moth  ^  corrupteth.  For  where  your  treasure  Is,  there 
will  your  heart  be  also." 

The  rule  of  Christian  wisdom  laid  down  by  Jesus  Is 
summed  up  In  this  wise:  thought  of  the  goods  of  earth 
cannot  check  the  flight  of  souls  whom  God  Invites  to  enjoy 
the  goods  of  heaven.  The  true  Christian  must  suppress 
these  obstacles,  but  under  conditions  which  are  not  the 
same  for  all.  Thus  for  the  first  disciples  the  rupture  is 
necessarily  radical,  and  the  Master's  word  binds  literally. 
Summoned  to  announce  the  Gospel  in  the  whole  universe, 
the  care  of  material  goods  would  not  be  compatible  with 
their  Apostolate.  The  Christians  of  the  future,  on  the 
contrary,  are  free  not  to  attain  this  heroism  of  absolute 
renouncement.  To  have  and  to  practise  the  spirit  of 
detachment  will  be  enough  for  them.^  While  the  Apostles 
are  bound  by  a  precept,  later  generations  shall  be  only 
counselled.  This  counsel  shall  oblige  only  a  few  privi- 
leged souls  called  by  grace  to  give  to  the  Church  an 
example  of  the  highest  perfection.  The  Gospel  contains 
commandments  of  which  only  the  essence  Is  permanent. 
The  manner  of  their  fulfilment  varies.  At  one  period  in 
the  history  of  God's  Kingdom  one  must  be  able  to  cast 
aside  everything  to  become  a  valiant  soldier;  at  another 
he  must  know  how  to  possess  and  dispense  temporal  goods 
for  the  care  of  the  poor  and  the  support  of  the  Church. 

^  Ephes.  i,  4-6. 

"  The  Jews  considered  as  a  treasure  not  only  gold  and  silver,  but  all 
precious  objects  which  were  stored  away,  such  as  grain,  stuffs,  etc.  (Gen. 
xlv,  22;  Jos.  vii,  21,  etc.),  which  the  moth  and  weevil  could  injure. 

'  This  is  what  St.  Paul  calls  having  as  if  thfy  had  not.     (I  Cor.  vii,  29.) 

[364] 


BooKin]  LESSONS   OF  WISDOM 

Moral  strength  demands,  at  times,  a  human  basis  on  which 
to  rely. 

When  the  hour  was  come,  none  of  the  disciples,  save 
Judas,  recoiled  before  the  sacrifice  of  his  little  treasure. 
God  had  made  them  kings ;  they  worried  not  about  the 
care  of  raiment  or  of  food,  since  they  held  a  sceptre. 
Hastening  over  all  the  world,  toward  every  form  of  civilisa- 
tion or  of  barbarity,  in  the  midst  of  a  thousand  perils, 
capable  of  the  utmost  devotion,  they  had  but  one  passion, 
to  carry  on  a  warfare  of  the  Word  in  order  to  save  souls. 
The  rest  was  nothing  to  them.    Their  hearts  were  above  it. 

After  this  Jesus  was  pleased  to  touch  upon  a  more  gen- 
eral subject,  the  application  of  which  was  universal,  since 
it  involved  the  question  of  the  kind  of  vigilance  that  in- 
sures salvation.  "Let  your  loins,"  He  said,  "be  girt,^ 
and  lamps  burning  in  your  hands."  Thus  He  expresses 
the  foremost  command  in  the  Christian  life.  To  be  ever 
on  the  alert,  ready  to  act  for  the  glory  of  the  Master, 
to  bear  the  light  of  faith  in  the  soul  In  order  to  direct 
one's  works,  this  is  the  duty  of  the  faithful  servant.  "And 
you  yourselves  like  to  men  who  wait  for  their  Lord,  when 
He  shall  return  from  the  wedding:  that  when  He  cometh 
and  knocketh,  they  may  open  to  Him  immediately.  Blessed 
are  those  servants,  whom  the  Lord,  when  He  cometh, 
shall  find  watching.  Amen,  I  say  to  you,  that  He  will 
gird  Himself,  and  make  them  sit  down  to  meat,  and, 
passing,  will  minister  unto  them.^     And  if  He  shall  come 

'  The  Orientals,  wearing  long,  wide  gannents,  are  obliged  to  tuck  them 
up  about  their  loins  when  they  wish  to  go  on  a  journey  or  to  fulfil  some 
office  that  requires  agility.  (See  IV  Kings  iv,  29;  ix,  1;  Jerem.  i,  17,  etc.) 
Horace,  Sat,  ii,  8,  10,  says:  "Puer  alte  cinctus,"  and  later:  "Prsecincti 
recte  pueri  comptique  ministrant." 

*That  we  may  not  be  too  greatly  surprised  by  this  demonstration  of 
kindness,  we  must  not  forget  that  the  lot  of  servants  among  the  Jews  was  far 
from  being  as  hard  as  among  the  pagans.  On  certain  feasts  they  were 
invited  to  eat  with  their  masters  in  order  to  share  their  joy.     (Deut.  xii, 

[365] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

in  the  second  watch,  or  come  in  the  third  watch,  and  find 
them  so,  blessed  are  those  servants."  Their  zeal  may  be 
laudable,  but  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  it  is  rewarded 
beyond  all  expectation.  They  have  watched  until  mid- 
night and,  perhaps,  even  until  morning,  with  their  gar- 
ments tucked  up,  ready  to  hasten  at  the  first  sign  of  the 
Master.  Lighted  lamps  were  in  their  hands,  and  always 
alert,  attentive  to  the  slightest  sound,  unwearied,  they 
awaited.  It  is  a  beautiful  and  charming  picture  of  the 
just  man,  of  the  true  servant  of  God,  of  the  faithful  dis- 
ciple of  Jesus,  who,  also,  passes  his  life  waiting  coura- 
geously for  the  coming  of  the  Master !  It  is  after  death 
that  this  latter  comes  every  day.  Later  on  He  shall  come 
solemnly  in  all  His  glory.  Happy  for  having  honoured 
Him  by  a  correct  life,  by  a  virtue  equal  to  any  trial,  the 
good  servant,  whom  hope  sustains  and  faith  enlightens, 
cries  out,  at  the  first  sound  of  knocking  at  the  door :  "Here 
am  I" ;  and  he  opens.  Death  cannot  terrify  him,  for  it 
will  bring  him  within  sight  of  the  Master.  The  latter 
appears,  indeed,  radiant ;  He  comes  from  the  great  ban- 
quet prepared  for  Him  by  the  Father  in  heaven.  The 
faithful  servant  expects,  as  a  reward  for  his  watching, 
naught  but  the  joy  of  having  been  pleasing  to  his  Lord. 
Two  words  of  approbation  which  he  receives  from  His 
divine  lips  will  be  enough  to  make  him  forget  all  the  weari- 
ness of  the  night.  But  the  Master  argues  otherwise,  for, 
if  His  sei'vants  are  good.  He  is  far  more  so.  He  seems 
even  excessively  good.  In  the  satisfaction  which  He  feels, 
He  has  suddenly  thought  of  the  most  astounding  of  all 

17,  18;  xvi,  11,  12.)  Some  may  find  a  contradiction  between  this  passage 
and  St.  Luke  xvii,  7-9,  if  they  forget  that  here  there  is  question  of  the 
Master's  sentiments,  whereas  later  there  is  question  of  the  servant's.  The 
former  is  pleased  to  indulge  in  the  utmost  generosity,  whDe  it  is  the  duty 
of  the  latter  to  practise  humility  and  to  be  conscious  of  his  own  inability 
when  it  is  question  of  producing  a  work  of  merit. 

[366] 


BooKni]  LESSONS  OF  WISDOM 

rewards.  Since  these  good  people  have  exhausted  them- 
selves with  so  long  a  watch,  He  decides  to  have  them  sit 
at  His  table.  This  table  is  none  other  than  the  continua- 
tion of  the  banquet  from  which  He  Himself  is  just  return- 
ing. For  it  was  the  custom  among  the  Jews  to  offer  to 
the  guests  a  portion  of  the  feast  which  they  might  take 
to  their  homes  to  continue  the  feast  there,  and  thus  extend 
the  rejoicing  to  all  their  family.  It  is  probably  to  eat 
these  remains  that  the  master  invites  his  faithful  servants, 
associating  them,  in  a  way,  with  the  pleasure  which  he 
has  had  himself  in  being  present  at  the  nuptial  banquet. 
Thus  the  elect,  in  return  for  their  watchful  fidelity,  shall 
receive  their  share  of  the  eternal  banquet,  and  it  is  Jesus 
Himself  Who,  with  most  tender  affection,  will  give  them 
this  sweet  recompense.  Such,  under  the  imagery  of  the 
parable,  is  the  astonishing  history  of  heaven.  Christ 
makes  Himself  the  Servant  of  His  servants,  and  fills  them 
Himself  with  His  own  glory,  thus  rewarding  a  hundred- 
fold their  merits  here  below. 

However,  the  master's  coming  might  well  appear  to  some 
to  be  anything  but  a  signal  for  rejoicing.  If  they  have 
not  watched  until  the  end,  they  have  not  fulfilled  their 
duty;  and,  not  having  fulfilled  their  duty,  they  are  in 
danger  of  experiencing  bitter  regret  for  their  shortcom- 
ing; for  the  master  may  arrive  at  any  moment.  To  test 
his  servants,  he  will  choose  a  time  when  he  is  not  expected. 
"But  this  know  ye,  that  if  the  householder  did  know  at 
what  hour  the  thief  would  come,  he  would  surely  watch, 
and  would  not  suffer  his  house  to  be  broken  open.  Be 
ye  also  ready,  for  at  what  hour  ye  think  not,  the  Son  of 
Man  will  come."  The  surprise  would  be  disastrous,  their 
failure  irreparable;  eternity  is  at  stake. 

Peter,  thinking  particularly  of  the  reward  promised  to 
the  faithful  servants — he  feels  himself  brave  and  loving 

[367] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [pakt  second 

enouffh  to  be  one  of  them — is  anxious  to  know  if  all  will 
be  permitted  to  win  it,  or  if  this  is  to  be  the  exclusive 
privilege  of  the  Apostles.  Conscious  affection  does  not 
like  to  be  confounded  with  that  which  is  common.  It  is 
to  a  sentiment  of  natural  vanity,  or,  perhaps,  even  of 
noble  jealousy,  that  Peter  seems  to  have  yielded  on  this 
occasion.  "Lord,"  he  asked,  "dost  Thou  speak  this  para- 
ble to  us,  or  likewise  to  all?"  Can  it  be  that  every  sub- 
ject of  the  Messiah-King  may  strive  for  this  reward  of 
the  watchful  servants,  or  is  it  reserved  only  for  the  min- 
isters of  this  King  ?  They  were  the  ministers ;  the  sub- 
jects  were  all  men.  The  Apostles,  as  we  have  seen  more 
than  once,  looked  for  the  Parousia,  or  the  glorious  return 
of  Jesus  to  earth  after  a  brief  absence,  without  due  regard 
to  the  many  evidences  that  forbade  them  to  see  the  proofs 
of  its  near  approach  ^^  in  the  Master's  declarations.  It 
is  easy  to  understand  how  it  was  that  they  took  a  deep 
interest  in  learning  what  would  be  the  place  each  one  would 
hold  in  the  new  Kingdom. 

Jesus'  intention  was,  indeed,  to  liken  all  the  faithful 
to  the  good  servants  in  the  parable  as  regards  merit  and 
reward.  In  this  the  Apostles  must  consent  to  be  ranked 
with  the  multitude  of  the  Messiah's  true  friends,  for 
their  title  of  Apostles  cannot  prevent  others  from  lov- 
ing the  Master  and  serving  Him  with  as  great  devotion 
as  they  themselves.  The  holy  women  who  are  present, 
and  the  generous  hearts  of  later  times,  are  to  be  none  the 
less  deserving  of  the  tenderness  and  of  the  favours  of  the 
Master,  though  they  were  not  of  the  number  of  the  Twelve. 
To  all  His  faithful  souls,  whether  they  be  of  the  ecclesias- 

^°  To  come  in  the  third  watch  meant  to  come  at  the  end  of  the  night  and 
consequently  to  inaugurate,  after  long  centuries,  the  definitive  reign  of  the 
Messiah  over  the  Church  triumphant  and  glorified.  In  the  parable  of  the 
Virgins  (St.  Matt,  xxv,  5)  and  in  that  of  the  Talents  {St.  Matt,  xxv,  19)  the 
Master  also  represents  Himself  as  being  looked  for. 

[368] 


BOOK  III]  LESSONS   OF  WISDOM 

tical  liierarchy  or  not,  the  Lord  makes  known  His  great 
satisfaction  by  admitting  them  to  the  same  banquet.  For 
the  Apostles  He  has  reserved,  in  addition  to  this,  a  degree 
of  glory  corresponding  to  the  mission  they  shall  have  ful- 
filled in  the  Church.  To  their  recompense  as  friends  must 
be  added  another  reward  as  founders  of  the  Church.  They 
have  been  friends  and  Apostles,  faithful  to  God's  grace 
in  their  private  life,  and  no  less  faithful  to  their  duties 
as  shepherds  in  their  public  career :  the  Lord  cannot  for- 
get that  fact.  Without  appearing  to  have  heard  Peter's 
question,  Jesus,  continuing  His  discourse,  answers  in- 
directly.^^ "Who,  thinkest  thou,"  He  goes  on,  "is  the 
faithful  and  wise  steward,  whom  his  Lord  setteth  over 
his  household  to  give  them  their  measure  of  wheat  ^^  in 
due  season.'"'  Peter,  conscious  of  his  primacy,  could  not 
fail  to  say  within  himself  that  he  first  of  all  was  this 
steward,  and,  after  him,  his  colleagues  in  the  Apostolate. 
For  they  have  all  received  the  mission  of  governing  the 
Church  and  of  distributing  to  it,  regularly,  the  good  grain 
of  the  divine  word.  "  Blessed  is  that  servant  whom, 
when  his  lord  shall  come,  he  shall  find  so  doing !  Verily, 
I  say  to  you,  he  will  set  him  over  all  that  he  possesseth." 
Such  is  to  be  the  special  reward  of  the  Apostles  in  eter- 
nity. On  twelve  thrones,  they  shall  judge  the  twelve 
tribes  of  Israel. 

"But  if  that  servant  shall  say  in  his  heart:  My  lord 
is  long  a-coming;  and  shall  begin  to  strike  the  men- 
servants  and  the  maid-servants,  and  to  eat  and  to  drink 
and  be  drunk,  the  lord  of  that  servant  will  come  in  the  day 
that  he  hopeth  not,  and  at  the  hour  that  he  knoweth  not, 

"  This  was  a  common  method  with  the  Master.  (Cf .  St.  Luke  xix,  25-26 ; 
St.  John  xiv,  21-25.) 

'^  Each  servant  received  four  or  five  bushels  of  wheat  every  month.  The 
Romans  made  this  distribution  on  the  Kalends,  and  the  Greeks  on  the  last 
of  the  month.     A  special  steward  was  placed  in  charge  of  this  work. 

[369] 


LIFE   OF  CHRIST  [jaht  second 

and  shall  separate  hlm,^^  and  shall  appoint  him  his  portion 
with  unbelievers."  Such  is  the  odious  portrait  and  awful 
history  of  the  minister  who,  forgetful  of  all  his  duties, 
under  pretext  that  the  Master  will  not  come  yet  to  exam- 
ine his  works,  makes  wrong  use  of  his  rights. "  Instead 
of  nourishing  souls  and  caring  for  them,  he  tyrannises 
over  them.  His  personal  passions,  even  the  coarsest,  he 
satiates  with  frightful  cynicism.  One  would  say  that  he 
no  longer  believes  that  the  Master  Whom  he  represents 
will  ever  return.  It  may  be  that  his  folly  goes  so  far  as 
to  make  him  say:  "He  is  dead.  I  am  Master!"  Great 
as  it  may  be,  the  severity  that  shall  come  upon  such  a 
sinner  shall  be  only  too  just.  What  comfort  the  souls 
of  honest  men  shall  derive  from  that  wind-blast  of  divine 
justice  that  shall  cast  down  the  faithless  one  from  the 
throne  he  has  usurped,  and  hurl  him,  as  St.  Matthew  says, 
to  that  place  where  there  is  weeping  and  gnashing  of 
teeth ! 

"And  that  servant,  who  knew  the  will  of  his  lord,"  con- 
tinues Jesus,  "and  prepared  not  himself,  and  did  not  ac- 
cording to  his  will,  shall  be  beaten  with  many  stripes.  But 
he  that  knew  not,  and  did  things  worthy  of  stripes,  shall 
be  beaten  with  few  stripes.  And  unto  whomsoever  much 
is  given,  of  him  much  shall  be  required ;  and  to  whom  they 
have  committed  much,  of  him  they  will  demand  the  more." 
Consequently,  the  dignity  in  virtue  of  which  the  Apostles 
are  first  and  which,  in  fact,  brings  them  nearer  to  the  Mas- 

''  Interpreters  are  divided  as  to  the  sense  of  the  verb  Sixorofiija-ei,  which, 
in  its  first  acceptation,  would  mean  "he  shall  cause  him  to  be  cut  in  two." 
This  punishment,  in  fact,  was  not  unknown  to  the  ancients.  (Judges  xix, 
29;  1  Kings  xv,  33;  Diodorus  Siculus,  i,  2;  Suetonius,  CaiiguL,  ch. 
xxvii;  Horace,  Sat.,  i,  1,  100:  "Securi  divisit  medium.")  But,  as  the 
culprit  is  afterward  placed  in  company  with  the  wicked,  we  must  suppose 
that  he  was  not  dead,  and  then  the  meaning  of  SjxoTOjuetj/  would  be  a 
punishment  which  does  not  destroy  life.  It  most  probably  indicates  a 
violent  tearing,  consequently  the  punishment  with  the  lash,  in  its  most 
terrible  form.     (Arrian,  Diss.  Epict.,  iii,  22;  Hom.,  Odyss.,  xviii,  3i5.) 

[370] 


BOOK  III]  LESSONS  OF  WISDOM 

ter  than  the  rest  of  the  faithful,  will  be  for  them  the 
occasion  of  severer  punishment,  if  it  is  not  that  of  a  more 
glorious  reward.  In  this  way  Jesus  encouraged  them,  and 
gave  the  others  to  understand  that  the  first  consequence  of 
lofty  dignity  is  an  obligation  to  rise  to  more  exceptional 
virtue. 

Besides,  the  time  would  shortly  come  for  the  disciples 
to  show  each  his  real  worth.  The  very  avowal  of  their  in- 
nocent pretensions  naturally  called  up  before  the  Master's 
eyes  the  prospect  of  the  persecutions  awaiting  them.  He 
beheld  the  fearful  torments  ready  to  be  let  loose,  and  His 
heart  trembled  for  the  poor  flock  that  had  to  endure  them. 
He  saw  Himself  igniting  the  spark  and  knew  already  that 
He  would  be  the  first  to  be  consumed.  Then  His  words 
assumed  a  solemn  tone,  a  deep  emotion  stirred  His  heart, 
and  His  divine  soul  felt  the  need  of  pouring  itself  out 
before  His  friends.  "I  am  come  to  cast  fire^*  on  the 
earth,"  He  said,  "and  what  will  I  but  that  it  be  enkindled?" 
Like  a  daring  hand  that  hurls  into  the  midst  of  enemies 
the  flaming  brand  that  starts  the  conflagration  and  pre- 
pares the  victory,  the  Son  of  God  has  sown  the  truth  in 
the  world,  and,  like  a  devouring  flame,  it  is  to  invade  all 
things  and  throw  all  things  into  confusion,  in  order  to 
purify  and  save  them.  The  burning  will  be  sudden,  uni- 
versal, disastrous  it  would  seem,  terrible.  Jesus  knows  it, 
but  He  hesitates  not  to  burn  all  things  in  order  to  restore 
them.  He  Himself  shall  be  the  first  victim;  and  this  is 
another  reason  for  wishing  eagerly  to  see  the  ordeal  begun. 
"And  I  have  a  baptism,"  He  said  further,  "wherewith  I 
am  to  be  baptised ;  and  how  I  am  straitened  until  it  be 
accomplished!"     So,  then,  all  the  woes  of  the  Passion  are 

'*  Inasmuch  as  the  word  contrasting  with  this  fire,  according  to  verse  51, 
is  peace  (elp'fjvTi),  and  its  synonym  is  division,  discord  {SiaixepiafiSs),  we  can- 
not take  this  as  meaning  the  fire  of  divine  love. 

[  371  ] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

before  Him ;  He  looks  upon  them  as  upon  a  horrible  river  ^^ 
of  blood  and  ignominy  through  which  He  must  pass.  His 
soul  shudders  at  the  sight,  but  it  is  His  duty  to  be  the 
first  on  the  way  of  the  martyrs.  He  will  not  fail.  Let 
His  disciples  follow  in  His  steps. 

"Think  j^e,"  He  exclaims,  turning  toward  them,  "that 
I  am  come  to  give  peace  on  earth  ?  I  tell  you  no,  but  sepa- 
ration. For  there  shall  be  from  henceforth  five  in  one 
house  divided,  three  against  two,  and  two  against  three. 
The  father  shall  be  divided  against  the  son,  and  the  son 
against  his  father,  and  the  mother  against  the  daugh- 
ter, and  the  daughter  against  the  mother,  the  mother-in- 
law  against  her  daughter-in-law,  and  the  daughter-in-law 
against  the  mother-in-law."  And  such,  in  truth,  was 
the  sad  history  of  mankind  during  three  centuries.  The 
Christians  fought  against  error,  immorality,  vice,  with 
no  arms  but  their  faith,  their  justice,  and  their  charity. 
The  pagans  struggled  against  light,  truth,  and  virtue, 
and  to  stifle  them  they  had  at  hand  brutal  force,  and  they 
made  use  of  it.  In  spite  of  the  voice  of  blood,  the  Chris- 
tian daughter  and  son  said  to  father  and  mother :  "I  can- 
not stay  by  you,  for  I  abominate  your  false  gods."  And 
the  father  and  the  mother  replied:  "To  the  beasts,  to  the 
stake,  to  the  torture  with  Christians,  be  they  our  own  chil- 
dren !"  The  separation  could  not  be  more  radical,  and 
the  history  of  the  crimes  to  which  it  drove  the  pagans  is 
as  heart-rending  as  the  story  of  the  scenes  in  which  is 
set  forth  the  courage  of  our  Christian  heroes  is  consoling. 

The  disciples  sought  to  reassure  themselves  by  suppos- 
ing that  these  terrible  predictions  referred  to  a  distant 
future.  Once  again  they  were  mistaken.  Any  man  of 
clear  vision  could  not  but  see  that  the  awful  hour  was  about 
to  strike.  The  multitudes  themselves  must  be  warned  of 
"  Ps.  Ixviii,  2,  3 ;  Isa.  xliii,  2. 

[372] 


BOOK  III]  LESSONS  OF  WISDOM 

it.  Turning,  therefore,  to  the  people.  He  added :  "When 
you  see  a  cloud  rising  from  the  west,  presently  you  say: 
A  shower  is  coming ;  and  so  it  happeneth.  And  when  you 
see  the  south  wind  blow,  you  say :  There  will  be  heat ;  and 
it  Cometh  to  pass.  You  hypocrites,  you  know  how  to  dis- 
cern the  face  of  the  heavens  and  of  the  earth ;  but  how 
is  it  that  you  do  not  discern  this  time?"  The  religious 
crisis  is  come ;  the  breaking  up  is  already  begun ;  it  is 
seen  in  families,  among  the  people,  in  Jerusalem;  in  less 
than  three  months  Jesus  shall  be  its  patient  victim,  for 
it  is  above  His  head  first  of  all  that  the  storm  shall  burst, 
and  they  discern  it  not !  How  is  it  that  they  cannot  see 
that  all  the  wrath  of  the  Sanhedrim  must  end  in  the  Cross, 
and  that  after  the  Cross  will  come  their  own  ordeal.''  They 
discern,  however,  the  rain  behind  the  cloud  as  it  rises  from 
the  Mediterranean,  and  the  burning  heat  that  follows  the 
simoon  from  the  desert.  What  inconsistency  is  this  that 
renders  them  blind  in  religious  matters,  they  who  are 
otherwise  so  clear-sighted  in  the  natural  order  of  things  .f* 
They  cling  to  their  illusion  in  believing  that  the  Messiah 
is  advancing  to  a  triumph  and  not  toward  death,  that  they 
themselves  are  marching  on  to  the  conquest  of  the  world, 
to  wealth  and  glory.  Events  are  destined  to  undeceive 
them. 

Willing  or  not,  these  solemn  words  brought  before  the 
minds  of  all  the  dark  prospect  which  Jesus  would  not  allow 
to  disappear.  A  painful  impression  of  sadness  came  upon 
their  souls,  and,  imperceptibly,  the  idea  of  the  Messiah  suf- 
fering held  their  attention. 


[373] 


CHAPTER    IX 

OTHER  CURES  ON  THE  SABBATH-DAY 

—A  DINNER  AT  THE  HOUSE  OF 

A  PHARISEE 

Jesus  Is  Well  Received  in  Pee^a — He  There  Again 
Meets  the  Pharisees  with  Their  Scruples  About 
Healing  on  the  Sabbath  —  The  Woman  "Bowed 
Together,"  and  the  Apothegm  on  the  Ass  and  the 
Ox  Loosed  from  the  Manger — The  Dropsical  Man 
IN  THE  Pharisee's  House — Wise  Lessons  Regarding 
THE  Desire  for  the  First  Places  —  The  Guests 
Whom  It  Is  Best  to  Invite,  and  Those  Who  Are  to 
Participate  in  the  Eternal  Banquet — The  Para- 
ble OF  THE  Great  Supper.  (St.  John  x,  40-42;  St. 
Luke  xiii,  10-17,  and  xiv,  1-24.) 

The  fourth  Gospel  tells  us  that  Jesus  "returned  beyond 
the  Jordan,  where  John  was  baptising  first,  and  there  He 
abode"  for  some  time.  The  Apostolate  which  He  at  once 
resumed  was  not  without  success.  In  that  place  John  the 
Baptist  had  aroused  and  taught  the  multitudes,  and  the 
memory  of  his  vehement  preaching  was  still  fresh.  When 
they  beheld  Jesus  near  at  hand  and  heard  His  discourses, 
they  said  to  one  another :  "John  indeed  did  no  sign ;  but 
all  things,  whatsoever  John  said  of  this  man,  were  true." 
The  herald  had  faithfully  accomplished  his  mission  and 
the  people  readily  glorified  him  for  it.     God  had  sent  him 

[374] 


BOOK  III]  CURES  ON  SABBATH-DAY 

only  to  speak.  He  had  spoken  well,  since  events  agreed 
with  what  he  had  foretold. 

Many,  therefore,  believed  in  Jesus.^  For  a  moment  He 
seemed  to  be  experiencing  again  the  best  days  of  His  min- 
istry in  Galilee.  The  Master  set  out,  as  before,  on  His 
journey  through  the  towns  near  the  Jordan;  in  each  place 
He  healed  the  sick  and  exorcised  demons.^  From  admira- 
tion the  multitudes  quickly  advanced  to  an  enthusiastic 
faith.  The  word  of  God  was  working  deep  in  their  souls ; 
and  if,  from  time  to  time,  the  Pharisaical  faction  ventured 
to  raise  its  head,  it  was  only  with  timidity.  They  per- 
ceived that  in  Peraea  they  were  on  ground  less  subject  to 
their  influence,  and  Jesus  had  nothing  to  fear  from  their 
homicidal  plots.  He  could  with  impunity  even  attack  and, 
as  often  as  the  opportunity  offered,  ridicule  them  by  re- 
torts which,  owing  to  their  vivid  sarcasm,  entered  deeply 
into  the  minds  of  all. 

As  is  well  known,  healing  on  the  Sabbath-day  was  an 
ancient  problem  on  which  the  wisdom  of  the  Pharisees  had 
engaged  in  debate  on  several  occasions,  as  well  in  Jerusalem 
as  in  Galilee.  Seeing  this  famous  theological  difficulty,  a 
veritable  obsession  for  the  Rabbis,  reappear  at  this  time, 
one  would  almost  have  a  right  to  be  astonished  at  the  blind 
obstinacy  which  repeatedly  brought  it  forth,  did  he  not 
know  how  deeply  rooted  are  the  prejudices  of  sect  in  vulgar 
and  unperceiving  souls.  Moreover,  it  may  be  that  Jesus 
Himself  sought  these  occasions  to  throw  discredit  on  His 
adversaries  by  stigmatising  them  on  a  point  so  palpably 
absurd. 

Thus,  one  day,  while  He  was  preaching  in  a  Synagogue, 
He  noticed  in  the  crowd  a  poor  woman,  whose  suppliant 
air,  fervent  devotion,  and,  in  particular,  most  painful  in- 
firmity, rendered  her  remarkable.      She  was  bent  double, 

1  St.  John  X,  42.  ^  St.  Luke  xiii,  32. 

£375] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

unable  to  stand  straight  or  to  look  up.  This  physical 
condition  was  due  to  a  supernatural  cause.  The  Evan- 
gehst  tells  us  that  a  spirit  of  infirmity,  or  demon  of  ill 
health,  had  taken  possession  of  her,  and  held  her  thus  in 
subjection.  Was  it  directly  upon  her  nerves  that  the 
demon  exercised  his  power;  had  he  bound  her  muscles,  or 
did  he  reach  her  physical  being  only  by  exerting  his  influ- 
ence over  her  soul.''  It  matters  little.  Her  weakness  was 
extreme,  and  the  woman  had  endured  this  affliction  for 
eighteen  years. 

Jesus  was  filled  with  pity  for  her.  He  summoned  her 
to  come  near,  and  said  to  her :  "Woman,  thou  art  delivered 
from  thy  infirmity !"  These  words  immediately  brought 
back  to  the  infirm  woman's  will  the  energy  which  the  demon 
held  in  suppression.  At  the  same  time  the  divine  touch 
placed  her  organism  again  under  the  empire  of  that  will, 
for  Jesus  laid  His  hands  upon  her.  She  at  once  stood 
upright  and,  with  her  heart  full  of  joy  and  gratitude,  she 
glorified  God. 

Naturally  such  a  cure,  effected  on  the  Sabbath-day,  in 
the  crowded  Synagogue,  would  cause  scandal  to  a  certain 
extent,  for  there  were  there,  as  in  every  religious  assembly, 
some  strict  observers  of  the  Pharisaical  prescriptions. 
The  ruler  of  the  assembly  no  doubt  discerned  in  the  faces 
of  some  a  painful  impression,  overheard  certain  murmur- 
ings,  and  at  once  turned  his  attention  to  the  matter.  Not 
daring  to  address  Jesus  directly,  he  caused  the  whole  bur- 
den of  his  displeasure  to  fall  on  the  multitude.  "Six  days 
there  are  wherein  you  ought  to  w^ork,"  he  exclaimed; 
"in  them,  therefore,  come  and  be  healed,  and  not  on  the 
Sabbath-day."      Our  Lord  ^  perceived  the  blow  aimed  at 

^  The  Evangelist  here  calls  Jesus  6  Kvpios  to  proclaim  His  omnipotence. 
This  title  is  rarely  given  Him,  and  then  only  in  circumstances  tliat  display 
His  sovereignty  over  nature,  the  elements,  life,  and  death. 

[376] 


BOOK  111]  CURES  ON  SABBATH-DAY 

Him  over  the  heads  of  the  people,  and  responded:  "Ye 
hypocrites,  doth  not  every  one  of  you  on  the  Sabbath-day 
loose  his  ox  or  his  ass  from  the  manger,  and  lead  them 
to  water?"  He  spoke  to  all  those  formalists  whose  senti- 
ments the  ruler  of  the  S3'nagogue  had  expressed.  "And 
ought  not  this  daughter  of  Abraham,  whom  Satan  hath 
bound,  lo  these  eighteen  years,  be  loosed  from  this  bond 
on  the  Sabbath-day?"  This  was  direct  and  positive. 
Through  this  picturesque  comparison  the  reasonableness 
of  Jesus'  conduct  was  clear  to  the  eyes  of  all.  They 
loosed  the  ass  and  the  ox  and  led  them  from  the  manger 
to  the  watering-trough,  and  a  daughter  of  Abraham  was 
to  be  neither  delivered  from  her  sufferings  nor  withdrawn 
from  the  hands  of  the  demon  in  order  to  be  led  back  to 
health !  The  ox  and  the  ass  waited  for  their  time  to  drink 
only  from  the  evening  before,  and  this  wretched  woman 
awaited  her  cure  for  eighteen  years !  The  voice  of  common- 
sense,  when  it  bursts  out  with  this  warmth,  and  in  such 
telling  form,  excites  the  admiration  of  an  audience  and 
insures  the  humiliation  of  the  gainsayers  who,  suddenly 
abashed,  find  nothing  further  to  reply. 

That  is  what  happened  in  the  present  instance,  for, 
while  the  people  in  triumph  rejoiced  at  the  sight  of  the 
Saviour's  glorious  work,  the  Pharisees  held  their  peace. 
Unfortunately,  although  defeated  once  again,  they  were 
only  the  more  incorrigible  and  the  more  obstinate. 

Some  time  later  on,  in  fact,  one  of  the  most  influential  * 
among  them  invited  Jesus  to  dine  with  him.  It  was  again 
the  Sabbath-day.  Personally,  he  might  have  had  only  the 
best  intentions  with  regard  to  the  Master ;  but  several  of 
his  friends,  Pharisees  like  him  and  among  the  most  rigid, 

*  We  cannot  say  whether  St.  Luke  meant,  by  the  words  rwv  apx^vTwv  twv 
^apta-aiuv,  a  leader  of  the  sect — for  which  we  would  have  to  suppose  an 
organised  hierarchy — or  a  member  of  the  Sanhedrim,  or  simply  a  ruler  of 
the  Synagogue. 

[377] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

who  were  Invited  to  this  repast,  had  determined  maL'ciously 
to  watch  the  illustrious  guest  and  to  criticise  His  actions 
as  well  as  His  words.  He  paid  but  little  attention,  as  we 
have  seen,  to  this  espionage,  and  readily  threw  Himself 
into  the  snares  which  His  adversaries  had  set  for  Him,  for 
the  pleasure  of  victoriously  destroying  them.  On  enter- 
ing He  beheld  in  His  path  a  wretched  dropsical  man, 
brought  there  by  those  who  meant  to  put  Him  to  the  test. 
Without  further  prelude,  the  Master  addressed  Himself  at 
once  to  the  lawyers  and  to  the  Pharisees,  and  said:  "Is  it 
lawful  to  heal  on  the  Sabbath-day.'^"  Whether  it  be  that 
they  felt  themselves  incapable  of  coping  with  the  young 
Doctor,  or  that  through  a  sense  of  fitness  they  were  un- 
willing to  raise  a  conflict  in  the  house  to  which  they  had 
been  invited  and  thus  disturb  the  feast,  they  made  no 
response  to  His  appeal.  In  the  depths  of  his  heart,  how- 
ever, each  one  said :  "No,  it  is  not  permitted." 

Jesus,  hearing  their  secret  reply,  takes  the  sick  man  by 
the  hand,  heals  him  by  this  simple  touch,  and  dismisses  him. 
It  would  have  been  difficult  to  correct  the  prejudices  of 
the  Pharisees  with  greater  moderation  or  authority,  since, 
here  again,  a  miracle  came  to  the  support  of  the  teaching. 
Without  any  excessive  use  of  His  triumph,  the  Master 
was  content  to  resume,  with  a  slight  variation,  the  argu- 
ment with  which  He  had  already  silenced  His  adversaries. 
"Which  of  you  shall  have  his  son  ^  or  his  ox  fall  into  a 
pit,  and  will  not  immediately  draw  him  out  on  the  Sabbath- 
day.''"  But  this  dropsical  man,  too,  is  stifled  by  the 
water  that  pervades  his  organism.  What!  shall  the  ox 
be  dragged  out  of  the  pit  to  be  saved  from  drowning,  and 
shall  not  a  man  be  delivered  from  the  illness  that  is  chok- 
ing him.'*     There  was  nothing  to  reply,  and  all,  thankful 

*  Many  manuscripts  have  ivos  instead  of  v'Us. 

[  378  ] 


BooKin]  CURES   ON  SABBATH-DAY 

that  they  had  not  engaged  in  the  discussion,  continued 
to  hold  their  peace. 

In  the  meantime  the  hour  to  sit  at  table  had  come.  As 
we  have  observed,  every  Pharisee  was,  in  reahty,  intensely 
proud.  This  pride  ordinarily  asserted  itself  whenever 
there  was  question  of  precedence.  Narrow  minds  find  it 
difficult  to  yield  place  and  to  pay  homage  to  the  excellence 
of  others.  Thus  the  Pharisees  had  a  special  liking  for 
the  foremost  places,  either  at  table  or  in  public  assemblies.® 
The  presence  of  Jesus  did  not  contribute  to  render  them 
more  circumspect.  On  the  contrary,  since  they  all  had 
begun,  with  detestable  haste,  to  seize  upon  the  first  seats, 
it  is  probable  that  the  master  of  the  house  had  to  inter- 
fere and  rebuke  some  of  them  in  order  to  enforce  the  rights 
of  others.  It  was  a  good  opportunity  to  give  these  vain 
sectaries  a  useful  lesson.  The  Master  grasped  it.  He 
loved,  besides,  to  sanctify  such  feasts  by  seasoning  them 
with  a  few  profitable  maxims  for  those  present.  "When 
thou  art  invited  to  a  wedding,"  He  said,  "sit  not  down 
in  the  first  place,  lest  perhaps  one  more  honourable  than 
thou  be  invited  by  him,  and  he,  that  invited  thee  and  him, 
come  and  say  to  thee:  Give  this  man  place;  and  then  thou 
begin  with  shame  to  take  the  lowest  place.  But  when  thou 
art  invited,  go,  sit  down  in  the  lowest  place,  that  when  he, 
who  invited  thee,  cometh,  he  may  say  to  thee:  Friend,  go 
up  higher.  Then  shalt  thou  have  glory  before  them  that 
sit  at  table  with  thee." 

The  host,  in  restoring  the  order  he  desires,  must  inevi- 
tably have  recourse  to  a  certain  excess  in  which  pride,  it 
seems,  is  sure  to  find  its  punishment  and  modesty  its  re- 
ward. For,  when  he  determines  to  interfere,  the  middle 
places  at  the  banquet  are  already  taken,  and  then,  not  to 

"  They  will  be  reproached  with  this  caprice  later  on.     (St.  Luke  xx,  46.) 

[379] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [pakt  second 

disturb  all  the  guests,  he  at  once  calls  to  the  first  place 
him  who  was  in  the  last,  even  though  he  may  not  be  the 
most  honourable  of  the  assembly;  on  the  other  hand,  the 
first  becomes  the  last,  although,  in  consideration  of  his 
relative  worth,  he  should  have  had  a  place  in  the  middle. 
Thus  it  happens  in  human  society.  A  vain  man,  although 
possessed  of  some  good  qualities,  always  deems  himself 
appreciated  at  less  than  his  worth.  On  the  contrary,  our 
idea  of  a  humble  man  is  almost  always  above  his  true  merit. 
Hence,  were  humility  nothing  more  than  a  virtue  of  pru- 
dence, we  ought  to  practise  it  for  our  own  advantage. 
But,  from  the  supernatural  point  of  view,  its  role  is  de- 
cisive in  another  way.  It  is  the  indispensable  virtue  for 
him  who  wishes  to  enter  and  take  his  place  in  the  new 
kingdom.  There,  in  fact,  suddenly  transferred  by  a  word 
from  the  Supreme  Judge,  children  become  the  first,  and 
great  men,  in  their  pride,  the  last.  God  makes  humility 
the  stepping-stone  to  His  grace,  and  pride  the  stumbling- 
block  in  the  way  of  His  mercy.  This  is  expressed  in 
Jesus'  words  as  He  sums  up  His  whole  thought:  "Because 
every  one  that  exalteth  himself,  shall  be  humbled ;  and  he 
that  humbleth  himself,  shall  be  exalted." 

To  this  first  advice  given  to  the  guests,  the  Saviour 
soon  adds  another,  which  directly  interested  the  host. 
With  one  glance  at  the  guests  He  had  seen  that  they  all 
belonged  to  the  wealthy  upper  class.  It  would  there- 
fore be  easy  for  each  one,  in  taking  leave  of  his  host,  to 
thank  him  by  giving,  in  return,  an  invitation  in  the  near 
future.  He  alone  has  nothing  to  offer  but  His  gratitude. 
Who  knows,  even,  that  they  did  not  politely  force  Him  to 
part  from  His  disciples  in  this  brilliant  assemblage.''  It 
may  be  that  the  Pharisee  saw  in  these  poor  Galileans  noth- 
ing but  men  in  whom  distinction  of  mind  did  not,  as  it  did 
in  their  Master,  overshadow  their  humble  condition  and 

[380] 


BOOK  III]  CURES  ON  SABBATH-DAY 

their  obscurity  of  birth.  Jesus  did  not  refuse  the  invita- 
tion on  that  account — He  goes  wherever  the  glory  of  His 
Father  calls  Him — but  He  keeps  in  His  heart  the  affront 
given  to  His  own,  and  in  a  benevolent  way  He  addresses  this 
salutary  lesson  to  His  host:  "When  thou  makest  a  dinner 
or  a  supper,"  He  says,  "call  not  thy  friends,  nor  thy 
brethren,  nor  thy  kinsmen,  nor  thy  neighbours,  who  are 
rich,  lest,  perhaps,  they  also  invite  thee  again,  and  a 
recompense  be  made  to  thee.  But,  when  thou  makest  a 
feast,  call  the  poor,  the  maimed,  the  lame,  and  the  blind, 
and  thou  shalt  be  blessed,  because  they  have  not  wherewith 
to  make  thee  recompense;  for  recompense  shall  be  made 
thee  at  the  resurrection  of  the  just."  To  give  a  feast  to 
those  who  must  return  it  later  is  mere  investment  and  com- 
mercialism. To  invite  those  who  can  do  nothing  for  us 
is  charity.  To  be  sure,  it  is  not  wrong  to  receive  our  rela- 
tives and  friends  at  our  homes,  but  it  may  be  perfectly  use- 
less before  God  and  for  the  future  life.  To  nourish  the 
poor,  on  the  contrary,  is  always  a  good  thing,  and  the 
eternal  reward  of  a  good  work  is  assured  us.  It  were 
difficult  to  imagine  a  more  amiable  or  more  delicate  man- 
ner of  telling  the  Pharisee  that  He,  the  Master,  poor  amid 
them  all,  reserved  until  later  on  in  Heaven  the  return  to 
His  host  of  the  invitation  He  had  received  from  him 
on  earth.  This  expression  of  gratitude  was  not  to  be 
disdained. 

On  hearing  these  words,  one  of  the  guests  exclaimed: 
"Blessed  is  he  that  shall  eat  bread  "^  in  the  Kingdom  of 
God !"  This  exclamation  might  have  been  inspired  by  a 
lively  and  enthusiastic  faith,  or  merely  by  a  desire  to  lead 
the  young  Galilean  Doctor  into  a  conversation  that  would 
be  more  and  more  instructive.     Jesus  did  not  leave  it  un- 

'  ^dyerat  &prov  is  the  translation  of  an  Aramaic  expression  used  in  the 
Orient  in  the  sense  of  "taiiing  a  meal." 

[381] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

answered.  He  resumed  His  discourse  and  demonstrated 
that  it  was  not  enough  to  know  that  they  are  happy  who  go 
to  sit  at  the  banquet  of  the  Kingdom,  but  that  each  one  in- 
dividually must  strongly  desire  to  participate  therein. 
That  is  what  the  Pharisees  and  the  other  Jews  neglect. 
They  were,  however,  the  first  to  be  invited,  and  for  their 
hesitation  they  shall  not  arrive  even  the  last.  In  their 
place,  the  poor  shall  come  in  crowds  to  be  installed.  Thus 
will  it  be  given  to  these  unfortunate  ones  who  shall  have 
become  the  necessary  guests  at  the  eternal  banquet,  to  there 
receive  their  benefactors. 

"A  certain  man,"  said  Jesus,  "made  a  great  supper  and 
invited  many."  This  man  or  host  is  God.  The  multitude 
of  those  invited  represents  the  Jewish  people,  who  were  the 
most  advanced,  the  most  religious,  and  apparently  the 
best  prepared  to  receive  the  Messianic  Kingdom.  "And 
he  sent  his  servant  at  the  hour  of  supper  to  say  to  them 
that  were  invited,  that  they  should  come,  for  now  all 
things  are  ready."  It  might  seem  strange  to  see  the  table 
ready,  the  meats  served,  and  the  guests  absent.  Such, 
however,  was  the  history  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  in  the 
midst  of  Israel.  In  vain  had  the  prophecies,  in  the  ful- 
ness of  time,  one  by  one  received  their  manifest  accomplish- 
ment ;  the  invited  had  remained  deaf  to  the  call  of  the  Lord. 
The  banquet  of  truth  and  love  prepared  for  them  was  with- 
out its  guests.  Such  indifference  would  have  exhausted 
man's  kindness ;  it  does  not  discourage  the  charity  of  God. 
After  so  many  unprofitable  advances,  God  determines  to 
try  a  final  one  which  shall  be  decisive.  At  the  very  mo- 
ment when  all  is  ready,  He  sends  His  servant,  John  the 
Baptist,  or,  better  still.  His  own  Son,  Who  assumes  the 
form  of  His  servant,^  to  announce  solemnly  that  it  is  time 
to  come  and  gather  round  the  Father  at  table.  Such  great 
'  Philipp.  ii,  7. 
[382] 


BOOK  III]  CURES  ON  SABBATH-DAY 

condescension  seemed  suited  to  arouse  the  ill-mannered 
laggards.  But,  now  behold,  one  after  the  other,  as  if  by 
agreement,  they  all  invented  various  excuses  and  declined 
the  invitation.  An  analysis  of  the  motives  alleged  is  quite 
interesting.  Human  nature  is  revealed  in  them  with  the 
succession  of  obstacles  which  it  always  raises  against  the 
impulse  of  grace. 

"The  first  said  to  him:  I  have  bought  a  farm,  and  I 
must  needs  go  out  and  see  it ;  I  pray  thee  hold  me  excused." 
Vanity  inflates  souls  and  turns  them  away  from  God.  This 
man  is  proud  of  his  acquisition.  He  has  a  country-seat; 
he  must  go  and  inspect  it ;  in  his  pride  he  is  impatient  to 
know  if  his  domain  will  properly  proclaim  his  fortune,  his 
distinction,  his  power.^  "And  another  said :  I  have  bought 
five  yoke  of  oxen,  and  I  go  to  try  them ;  I  pray  thee  hold 
me  excused."  This  time  it  is  the  thought  of  earthly 
things,  avarice  that  speaks.  The  heart  that  is  attached 
to  matter  has  no  longer  a  taste  for  spiritual  goods. ^^ 
Instead  of  hastening  to  receive  the  word  of  life,  this  pro- 
prietor finds  it  more  advantageous  to  go  and  try  whether 
his  new  teams  may  not  furnish  better  work  for  his  lands 
and  a  surer  income  for  his  cupidity.  "And,  finally, 
another  said:  I  have  married  a  wife,  and  cannot  come." 
The  others  had  refused  with  some  sense  of  fitness.  This 
man,  as  brutal  as  the  passion  that  detains  him,  declares 
without  further  form  of  politeness  that  he  cannot  come. 
The  obstacle  is  too  great,  a  woman !  He  must  belong  to 
her  before  all;  he  will  see  about  listening  to  God  later  on, 
if  he  have  time.  Thus  concupiscence,  under  the  threefold 
form  and  by  diverse  excuses,  keeps  from  the  spiritual  ban- 
quet the  invited  guests  whom  the  Lord  awaited. 

'  "  In  villa  empta,"  says  St.  Augustine, "  dominatio  notatiu*;  ergo  superbia 
castigatur."     (Serm.,  cxii,  2.) 

'" "  Amor  rerum  terrenarum  viscum  est  spiritualium  pennarum.  Ecce 
concupisti,  hsesisti."     (St.  Aug.,  ibid.) 

[383] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [p-^t  second 

These  answers,  which  were  reported  by  the  servant, 
deeply  incensed  the  master  of  the  house;  but  he  quickly 
decided  on  his  line  of  conduct.  Determining  never  to  re- 
ceive as  guests  any  who  betrayed  such  ill-will,  he  said  to 
his  servant:  "Go  out  quickly  into  the  streets  and  lanes  of 
the  city,  and  bring  in  hither  the  poor  and  the  feeble  and 
the  bhnd  and  the  lame."  This  substitution  is  somewhat 
surprising.  The  unfortunate  take  the  place  of  the  rich 
and  happy  in  life.  Sinners,  publicans,  women  of  sinful 
lives  come  to  participate  in  the  banquet,  from  which  the 
Pharisees  had  the  misfortune  to  cause  their  own  exclu- 
sion. It  is  true  that,  in  spite  of  their  faults,  these  sin- 
ners also  were  by  birth  children  of  Abraham.  The  invita- 
tion has  not  as  yet  passed  the  confines  of  the  land  of  the 
Israelites.  The  servant  gathered  together  this  second  class 
of  guests  within  the  boundaries  of  the  city.  But  this 
requisition,  although  more  profitable  than  the  former,  has 
not  filled  the  banquet-hall.  "Lord,"  said  the  servant,  "it 
is  done  as  thou  hast  commanded,  and  yet  there  is  room." 
Can  it  be  that  the  poor  among  the  Jews,  also,  had  in  part 
declined  the  divine  invitation,  or  were  they  too  few  in  num- 
ber for  this  great  banquet.''    The  Gospel  does  not  say. 

Grace,  like  nature,  abhors  a  vacuum.  So,  for  the  third 
time,  therefore,  does  the  master  give  orders  to  his  servant. 
"Go  out,"  he  said,  "into  the  highways  and  hedges,  and 
compel  them  to  come  in,  that  my  house  may  be  filled."  We, 
the  children  of  the  Gentiles,  were  among  those  mendicants 
who  were  wandering  aimless,  houseless,  and  hungry  along 
the  highways  of  the  world,  who  lay  in  idleness  behind  the 
hedges,  in  the  shame  of  undisciplined  lives,  like  vagabonds  ; 
and  the  servant  of  God,  Jesus  Christ,  came  in  the  person 
of  the  Apostles  to  invite  us  to  the  feast,  to  force  us,  to 
oblige  us  to  take  our  seats  there.  We  must  not  take  the 
Master's  words  in  this  sense,  that  violence  should  be  done 

[384] 


BOOK  III]  CURES  ON  SABBATH-DAY 

to  these  wretched  people ;  violence  is  not  a  means  employed 
by  God,  for  it  would  do  away  with  liberty.  Moreover, 
notwithstanding  the  absoluteness  of  the  command,  ^^Com- 
pelle  intrare,'"  it  is  clear  that  a  single  servant  would  not 
be  able  to  insure  its  fulfilment.  The  thought  of  him  who 
is  absolutely  desirous  of  guests  is  that  none  would  be  able 
to  resist  the  solicitations  of  his  emissary.  Persuasion  is 
sometimes  a  kind  of  moral  compulsion.  Truth  made  to 
shine  in  man's  eyes  is  an  irresistible  attraction ;  beauty  held 
out  for  his  love  transports  him  in  spite  of  himself ;  good- 
ness by  which  he  is  charmed  binds  him  and  draws  him  on 
by  the  stoutest  of  chains.  He  advances,  then,  as  if  pushed 
by  main  strength,  although  in  reality  he  is  free  not  to 
do  so.  He  who,  by  a  sudden  blow,  has  just  aroused  him 
from  his  torpor,  or  who  has  conquered  his  last  scruples, 
has  really  compelled  him  to  enter,  not  by  doing  him  vio- 
lence, but  by  determining  his  will.  Such  is  the  real  mean- 
ing of  the  divine  word  which  human  passion  may  have 
mistaken,  but  which  the  true  Christian  spirit  will  ever 
re-establish  for  the  honour  of  the  Church  and  of  liberty. 

It  was  nineteen  centuries  ago  that  this  multitude  of 
mendicants  heeding  the  Apostles'  voice  came  and  uncon- 
sciously filled  the  banquet-hall.  The  world  must  exist  as 
long  as  the  number  of  guests  required  by  divine  wisdom 
remains  unrealised.  God  will  not  be  glorified  by  an  in- 
complete and  diminished  family.  Whatever  the  number 
of  the  reprobate,  that  of  the  elect,  therefore,  must  still 
be  very  great.  When  every  vacant  place  shall  have  been 
occupied,  God  will  close  the  door,  and  the  banquet  of  eter- 
nity will  begin. 

Having  spoken  thus,  Jesus  cast  a  glance  over  those 
who  surrounded  Him,  and,  as  if  to  let  them  know  the  part 
which  He  and  they  had  in  the  parable,  He  added,  with  a 
tone  of  severity :  "But  I  say  to  you,  none  of  those  men  that 

[385] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [paet  second 

were  invited  shall  taste  of  My  supper."  These  words  are 
pronounced,  it  is  true,  according  to  the  text,  by  him  who 
gave  the  banquet;  but  Jesus,  identifying  Himself  with 
this  host  whose  self-love  is  hurt,  applies  them  to  Himself, 
and  thus  clearly  proclaims  that  He  is  the  Master  of  the 
feast. 


[386] 


CHAPTER    X 

THE  SMALL  NUMBER  OF  THE  ELECT, 

AND   THE   REPROBATION 

OF   ISRAEL 

Is  It  the  Minority  That  Shall  Be  Saved  ? — The  Real 
Gate  Is  Narrow — The  Wide  Gate  Exists  Only  in 
THE  Imagination  of  Sinners  —  Woe  to  the  Jews 
Who  Shall  Have  Remained  Outside,  and  Who 
Should  Have  Been  Within — Tidings  from  Jerusa- 
lem —  There  Are  Greater  Criminals  than  the 
Galileans  Massacred  by  Pilate  or  the  Jews  De- 
stroyed BY  THE  Tower  of  Siloe  —  God's  Justice 
After  His  Mercy — The  Parable  of  the  Barren 
Fig-Tree.      (St.  Luke  xiii,  22-30,  and  xiii,  1-9.) 

St.  Luke  observes,  at  this  point,  that  Jesus  continued 
to  visit  the  cities  and  towns,  instructing  the  people  and 
gradually  approaching  Jerusalem.  As  there  were  still 
two  months  before  the  Paschal  feast,  the  Master  intended 
to  utilise  them  in  evangelising  the  districts  beyond  the 
.Jordan.  He,  therefore,  resumed  His  journeyings  hither 
and  thither  throughout  Peraea,^  pausing  to  scatter  the 
good  seed  and  establish  the  Kingdom  of  God  in  the  hamlets 
as  well  as  in  the  great  centres.^  The  scenes  and  the  dis- 
courses that  follow  bear  so  great  a  resemblance  to  those  of 
the  Galilean  ministry  that  many  have  thought  it  right  to 

^  This  is  the  meaning  of  Suiropfiero.       ^  The  text  is  kot^  irdXtjj  koI  K<iiJ.as, 

[387] 


LIFP:  of  CHRIST  [pa«t  second 

assign  them  to  that  epoch.  But  It  is  evident  that  St.  Luke 
assigns  them  to  a  later  date,  at  the  time  when  Jesus  was 
on  His  way  to  Jerusalem. 

During  one  of  these  Apostolic  journeys,  and  probably 
at  the  close  of  the  discourse  on  the  Banquet  of  Eternity 
and  the  rejection  of  those  who  had  been  invited  first,  some 
one  among  His  disciples,  broaching  the  question  in  a  gen- 
eral way,  asked :  "Lord,  are  they  few  that  are  saved  ?" 

Even  to-day  theologians  discuss  this  question  with  in- 
terest. Happily,  it  is  not  necessary  to  solve  it  in  order 
to  be  saved  one's  self.  Hence,  Jesus,  instead  of  replying 
to  it  directly,  transfers  it  from  speculative  grounds  to 
the  more  profitable  ground  of  individual  practice,  where 
it  must  needs  be  kept.  "Strive  to  enter  by  the  narrow 
gate,"  He  says,  "for  many  I  say  to  you  shall  seek  to  enter 
and  shall  not  be  able."  ^  The  Kingdom  of  God  on  earth 
and  in  heaven  has  only  a  small  entrance;  hence  the  mis- 
take of  many.  They  count  on  entering  easily  and,  as  it 
were,  in  triumph,  without  any  sacrifice  of  their  proud 
pretensions,  of  their  passions,  of  their  riches,  and  they 
await  the  opening  of  the  massive  gates  to  pass  through 
with  all  their  train  of  vanity.  They  will  await  long. 
While  they  stand  there,  full  with  vain  desires,  eternal 
victims  of  a  sad  illusion,  the  most  courageous  and  most 
clever  enter  by  the  lower  gate  after  achieving  a  victory 
over  their  flesh,  their  concupiscence,  and  their  pride.  Thus 
is  humanity  divided  into  two  classes:  the  one  that  of  the 
blind,  who  stand  before  an  entrance  always  closed,  since 
it  is  only  imaginary,  and  the  other,  that  of  the  prudent, 
who,  with  resolution,  rush  on  through  the  narrow  but  real 

^  It  is  well  to  notice  the  words  employed  by  Jesus :  on  the  one  hand 
iya>vi(e<r0t,  indicating  the  energy,  the  effort,  the  serious  struggle  by  which 
alone  one  can  succeed  in  gaining  entrance  into  the  Kingdom ;  and  on  the 
other  (r)T'fi(rov<nv,  showing  the  desire  without  the  endeavour  necessary  for 
success. 

[  388  ] 


BOOK  III]         SMALL  NUMBER  OF  ELECT 

gate,  and,  crowding  over  its  threshold,  all  eager  to  be  the 
first  to  enter.  It  is  in  consequence  of  this  deplorable  error 
that  the  great  number  will  be  excluded  from  the  Kingdom. 
"But  when  the  Master  of  the  house  shall  have  gone  in,  and 
shut  the  door  .  .  ."  This  figurative  language  proves 
more  dii'ectly  here  that  He  speaks  of  the  mysteries  of  the 
life  to  come. 

Besides,  the  Kingdom  of  God  on  earth  becomes,  through 
death,  the  Kingdom  of  God  in  heaven,  and  the  same  laws 
govern  the  one  and  the  other  in  different  spheres.  The 
Master,  Who  shall  go  in,  is  God  Himself,  bringing  to  an 
end  the  state  of  probation  for  mankind,  for  a  nation,  or 
for  a  single  soul.  At  that  moment,  the  time  of  grace  shall 
be  passed;  the  small  gate  itself  shall  be  closed,  and  the 
foolish  ones,  suspecting  at  last  their  illusion,  shall  in  vain 
rush  on  to  gain  an  entrance;  it  will  be  too  late.  "You 
shall  begin  to  stand  without,  and  knock  at  the  door,  say- 
ing: Lord,  open  to  us.  And  He,  answering,  shall  say  to 
you:  I  know  not  whence  you  are.  Then  you  shall  begin 
to  say :  We  have  eaten  and  drunk  in  Thy  presence,  and 
Thou  hast  taught  in  our  streets.  And  He  shall  say  to 
you :  I  know  not  whence  you  are ;  depart  from  Me,  all  ye 
workers  of  iniquity." 

Thus,  the  reign  of  mercy  having  come  to  a  close,  the 
Saviour  will  no  longer  know  any  but  the  just  and  the  sin- 
ners, the  former  of  whom  sought  their  redemption  under 
the  most  severe  conditions,  while  the  latter  dreamed  of  it 
and  vainly  awaited  a  method  that  might  be  easier  and  more 
glorious  in  appearance.  Then  the  external  and  transitory 
relations  that  formerly  bound  us  to  Him  will  be  as 
nothing.  Only  the  closest  bonds,  an  Irrevocable  alliance 
through  faith  and  works  of  penance,  will  have  an  eternal 
value.  He  will  recognise  those  who  have  given  themselves 
to  Him  without  reserve ;  of  the  rest  He  will  know  but  one 

[389] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

thing,  namely,  that  they  belong  to  the  party  of  Satan, 
and  He  will  cast  them  forth  to  the  master  whom  they  have 
chosen.  "There  shall  be  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth," 
continues  Jesus,  "when  you  shall  see  Abraham,  and  Isaac, 
and  Jacob,  and  all  the  prophets  in  the  Kingdom  of  God, 
and  you  yourselves  thrust  out."  Nothing  can  equal  the 
long-drawn  cry  of  anguish  that  will  escape  from  these 
foolish  men,  thus  deceived  for  all  eternity.  A  horrible 
fear  shall  seize  upon  their  whole  being,  caused  by  a  despair 
as  fruitless  as  it  is  belated.  They  who  loudly  boasted 
that  they  were  the  sons  of  the  patriarchs  and  of  the  proph- 
ets will  behold  themselves  forever  separated  from  their 
fathers.  And — another  detail  that  will  add  to  their  woe 
— as  they  look  upon  the  society  of  the  elect,  they  will 
notice  that  their  place  is  not  empty.  For  it  shall  be  occu- 
pied by  the  Gentiles  whom  they  so  despised.  "They  shall 
come,"  Jesus  goes  on,  "from  the  east  and  the  west,  and 
the  north  and  the  south,  and  shall  sit  down  in  the  King- 
dom of  God."  The  picture  of  the  banquet  reappears  here 
quite  naturally,  since  it  is  this  that  still  occupies  the  minds 
of  the  disciples.  It  portrays  the  happiness  of  heaven. 
There,  Jews  and  pagans  in  union  with  the  Messiah  shall 
be  seated  at  the  same  table,  happy  in  their  eternal  brother- 
hood. They  alone  shall  not  be  brothers  who  shall  not 
have  accepted  the  Redemption.  But  the  majority  of  the 
Jews  will  have  been  guilty  of  this  folly.  So,  by  a  catastro- 
phe which  the  Jews  had  not  foreseen,  the  pagans  who  were 
the  last  summoned  to  the  Messianic  Kingdom  shall  become 
the  first,  and  the  sons  of  Abraham,  who  were  inscribed  on 
the  first  line  in  the  decree  of  the  Redemption,  will  so  surely 
be  the  last  that  the  vast  majority^  of  them  will  have  no 
part  whatsoever  therein. 

*  The  text  does  not  say  that  all  the  last  shall  be  first,  nor  that  all  the  first 
shall  be  last;  it  only  mentions  some  of  the  last  and  some  of  the  first:  koI  iSoh 
ficrlv  fffxnToi  ol  ((TovTai  vpoiiroi,  k.  t.  K. 

[390] 


BOOK  in]         SMALL  NUMBER  OF  ELECT 

At  this  moment  some  one  brought  from  the  capital  the 
saddest  of  news.  By  Pilate's  order,  certain  Galileans  had 
just  been  massacred  in  the  Temple,^  and  the  people  in  hor- 
ror, beholding  their  blood  mingled  with  that  of  the  victims, 
concluded,  no  doubt,  that  these  unfortunate  beings,  of 
whose  fault  ^  we  are  ignorant,  must  have  been  indeed  guilty, 
since  God  had  suffered  them  to  be  massacred  at  the  very 
time  when  they  were  offering  their  sacrifices.  Jesus  lis- 
tened to  the  various  opinions ;  then  suddenly,  without  dwell- 
ing on  this  incident,  because  in  the  near  future  His  pro- 
phetic glance  beheld  more  awful  catastrophes.  He  said: 
"Think  ye  that  these  Galileans  were  sinners  above  all  the 
men  of  Galilee,  because  they  have  suffered  such  things.'' 
No,  I  say  to  you;  but  unless  ye  shall  do  penance  ye  shall 
all  likewise  perish."  He  saw,  forty  years  from  that  time, 
the  remainder  of  his  faithless  fellow-countrymen  falling 
in  multitudes  in  that  same  Temple  in  Jerusalem,  beneath 
the  swords  of  the  soldiers  of  Titus.  The  final  destruction 
of  the  nation  would  then  prove  that  there  are  criminals 
more  culpable  than  the  seditious,  namely,  unbelievers,  and 
that  there  is  a  kind  of  rebellion  more  detestable  than  that 
which  attacks  the  power  of  man,  namely,  that  increduhty 
which  takes  up  arms  even  against  the  authority  of  God. 
It  may  be  that  there  was  a  malicious  and  scarcely  disguised 
motive  in  the  haste  with  which  they  told  Jesus  the  news 

*  Profane  history  has  kept  no  trace  of  this  frightful  massacre.  All  those 
of  which  Josephus  speaks  took  place  at  another  time  or  elsewhere  than  at 
Jerusalem.  But  it  is  easily  seen  how  such  an  act  of  severity,  quite  in  keeping 
with  Pilate's  character,  might  be  effaced  beneath  the  rigour  of  this  proc- 
urator's administration  in  other  matters.  The  Galileans,  for  their  part, 
were  sufficiently  rebellious  and  hostile  to  carry  even  into  the  Temple  the 
noise  of  their  political  or  religious  quarrels.     (Antiq.,  xviii,  9,  3,  etc.) 

°  It  is  supposed  that  they  had  fomented  a  revolt,  and  that  Barrabbas  (St. 
Luke  xxiii,  19)  was  one  of  their  partisans.  It  was,  perhaps,  on  the  oc- 
casion of  this  summary  execution  of  Galilean  subjects  by  Pilate  that  a 
disagreement  arose  between  Herod  and  the  representative  of  Roman  au- 
thority.    (St.  Luke  xxiii,  12.) 

[391  ] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

of  that  day.  The  Galileans,  His  compatriots,  were  also 
His  followers  and  His  most  faithful  friends.  Quite  natu- 
rally, then,  and,  as  if  He  attached  no  importance  to  it.  He 
reminds  His  questioners  of  another  catastrophe  that  oc- 
curred in  Jerusalem,  and  in  which  Jews,  and  not  Galileans, 
had  been  the  victims.  "Or  those  eighteen,"  He  says, 
"upon  whom  the  tower  fell  in  Siloe,^  and  slew  them ;  think 
ye  that  they  also  were  debtors  above  all  the  men  that  dwelt 
in  Jerusalem?  No,  I  say  to  you;  but  except  ye  do  pen- 
ance, ye  shall  all  likewise  perish."  Therefore,  be  they 
Israelites  of  Galilee  or  of  Judea,  more  reprehensible  than 
the  victims  of  this  latest  massacre,  since  it  is  even  God's 
Kingdom  that  they  in  their  obstinacy  reject,  they  call  down 
upon  their  heads  the  most  frightful  calamities.  They  shall 
fall,  not  beneath  the  blow  of  human  vengeance,  or  of  an 
unfortunate  accident,  but  under  the  blade  of  divine  jus- 
tice. Their  blood  shall  inundate  the  sanctuary ;  they  and 
their  children  shall  be  mercilessly  crushed  beneath  the  stones 
of  the  edifice,  while  the  Messiah  exacts  supreme  vengeance 
for  their  infidelity,  on  the  day  of  His  final  coming.  Then 
shall  He  bruise  His  enemies  with  the  rod  of  His  anger, 
and  immolate  them  as  woful  victims  beneath  the  strokes 
of  His  inexorable  justice.  Nothing  can  account  for  the 
severity  of  the  future  better  than  the  mercy  of  the  pres- 
ent. The  patience  of  the  Lord  is  long-enduring,  and  the 
resistance  of  His  creatures  most  inconceivable. 

Such  is  the  thought  developed  in  the  following  parable: 
"A  certain  man  had  a  fig-tree  planted  in  his  vineyard." 
The  example  is  taken  from  a  very  ordinary  sight  on  the 

^  This  tower  was  probably  that  which  guarded  the  gate  of  the  great  wall 
to  the  south-west  of  the  pool  of  Siloe,  the  foundations  of  which  have  recently 
been  excavated  by  Mr.  Bliss.  This  gate  must  have  been  rebuilt  three  times, 
since  different  thresholds  are  still  to  be  seen.  It  is  impossible  to  say  whether 
the  Jews  who  were  crushed  to  death  were  engaged  in  any  particular  work  of 
construction,  or  simply  chatting  and  selhng  their  wares,  as  is  done  even  lo-day 
at  the  gates  of  Oriental  cities. 

[392] 


BOOK  III]         SMALL  NUMBER  OF  ELECT 

rocky  hillsides  of  Palestine,  when  the  proprietor  endeav- 
ours to  cultivate  other  fruits  than  the  grape  in  his  vine- 
yard. The  vineyard  is  the  whole  world,  in  the  midst  of 
which,  like  a  fig-tree  of  great  promise,  was  planted  the 
Jewish  people.  "And  he  came  seeking  fruit  on  it  and 
found  none."  The  fruit  of  a  tree  indicates  the  abundance 
and  quality  of  its  sap.  Thus  the  works  of  men  reveal  their 
moral  value.  God  the  Father  looks  for  the  fruits  borne 
by  the  Jewish  people,  and  He  finds  among  them  none  or 
only  evil  works.  It  is  impossible,  even  for  His  divine  eye, 
to  discover  in  this  wicked  race  anything  that  may  respond 
to  His  hopes.  Then  He  says  to  the  dresser :  "Behold  for 
these  three  years  I  come  seeking  fruit  on  this  fig-tree,  and 
I  find  none."  Do  these  three  years  represent  the  law  of 
nature,  the  law  of  Moses,  and  the  law  of  grace,  or,  better, 
the  time  of  the  public  life  of  Jesus  Christ .''  Both  of  these 
explanations  have  been  put  forward  by  interpreters.  But, 
while  in  the  first  it  is  difficult  to  find  the  meaning  of  the 
fourth  year  of  respite  granted  to  the  Jewish  people,  in 
the  second,  it  may  be  said  with  some  semblance  of  truth 
that  this  reprieve  given  to  the  fig-tree  corresponds  with  the 
time  that  followed  the  death  of  Jesus  and  preceded  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem.  "Cut  it  down,  therefore,"  said 
the  master;  "why  cumbereth  it  the  ground.''"  Tliis  tree 
had  not  only  the  inconvenience  of  producing  nothing,  it 
also  injured  the  vineyard  by  absorbing  the  nutritive  juices 
of  the  earth  and  by  intercepting  the  rays  of  the  sun. 
Thus  Judaism  kept  for  itself  the  light  of  revelation,  and, 
without  itself  profiting  by  it  for  the  glory  of  God,  it  pre- 
vented its  diffusion  over  the  world.  God  seems  to  have 
taken  His  decision.     He  will  suppress  Judaism. 

Happily  for  the  fig-tree,  it  has  an  intercessor.  It  is 
the  vine-dresser,  who  asks  that  the  tree  may  have  one  last 
trial.     "Lord,"  he  says,  "let  it  alone  this  year  also,  until 

[  393  ] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

I  dig  about  it,  and  dung  it ;  and  if  happily  it  bear  fruit ; 
but  if  not,  then  after  that  thou  shalt  cut  it  do^vn."  How 
tender  and  how  true  in  these  words  do  we  not  feel  the 
charity  of  Jesus,  the  one,  real  Mediator  between  God  and 
man !  In  spite  of  all,  He  wishes  to  love  this  people  that 
detests  Him,  and  He  sheds  tears  over  that  city  that  is  go- 
ing to  put  Him  to  death.  The  Father  has  despaired  of 
the  faithless  nation ;  but  He  begs  a  respite  and  a  one  last 
endeavour.  Let  Him  try  for  one  year  more  ^  to  cultivate 
this  fruitless  tree  by  His  labour;  He  will  enrich  it  with 
His  words  and  with  His  works.  If  the  results  are  more 
satisfactory,  all  will  be  well ;  if  not,  then  divine  justice  must 
pursue  its  course ;  the  tree  shall  be  destroyed. 

This,  alas,  was  the  lot  of  this  prevaricating  people. 
Separated  from  among  the  nations,  it  has  ceased  to  be  a 
nation.  When  God's  mercy  was  exhausted.  His  justice  be- 
gan its  work. 

*  The  text  does  not  say  a  whole  year,  but  the  remainder  of  the  current 
year,  which  would  be  in  conformity  with  the  Gospel  chronology  adopted  by 
many:  &<pes  aiiriji'  koI  tovto  rh  eras. 


[  394  ] 


CHAPTER    XI 

A   FIRST   ENTHUSIASM   NOT   SUFFI- 
CIENT  TO   MAKE   DISCIPLES 

The  Enthusiasm  of  the  Multitudes — Jesus  Explains 
What  One  Must  Do  to  Become  a  Disciple — He  Must 
Hate  That  Which  He  Has  Held  Most  Dear — He 
Must  Bear  His  Cross — The  Tower  to  Be  Built  and 
the  War  to  Be  Waged — Salt  Is  Good — The  Plots 
OF  THE  Pharisaical  Faction  to  Draw  Jesus  Out  op 
Per^ea — The  Master's  Grave  and  Solemn  Response. 
(St.  Luke  xiv,  25-35;  xiii,  31-33.) 

The  brilliant  descriptions  of  the  Messianic  Kingdom 
sketched  by  the  prophets  account  for  the  lively  enthusiasm 
stirred  up  in  the  masses  by  the  announcement  of  its  ap- 
proach, and  the  eager  desire  of  all,  especially  the  honest 
country  folk,  to  be  enrolled  among  its  citizens.  The  in- 
habitants of  Perasa  were  almost  as  simple  as  those  of  Gali- 
lee; their  faith  was  still  alive,  because  the  religious  sects 
had  troubled  them  but  little  with  their  dry  discussions. 
Knowing  that  Jesus  was  going  up  to  Jerusalem  to  pro- 
claim Himself  the  Messiah,  they  hastened  to  His  side,  ask- 
ing for  a  place  among  His  disciples.^  But  it  was  neces- 
sary to  check  such  ardour  on  the  part  of  those  who  still 
dreamed  of  a  temporal  king,  and  to  enlighten  it  in  those 
who,  while  viewing  the  new  Kingdom  from  the  proper  point 

^  St.  John  X,  42 :  wal  fvlffrtvcraa'  iroWol  iKei  tls  ax)r6v. 

[395] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

of  view,  were  deceived  as  to  the  obstacles  to  be  overcome 
in  order  to  gain  an  entrance. 

If  a  momentary  desire  of  the  heart  were  sufficient  for 
salvation,  it  would  be  easy  for  man  to  make  sure  of  eter- 
nity, and  it  could  not  be  said  that  the  gate  of  heaven  is 
narrow  and  its  road  rough.  There  is,  alas,  a  law  of  death, 
which  we  must  observe  if  we  would  deserve  to  live.  This 
law  is  the  touchstone  of  the  true  disciple.  Before  pro- 
claiming themselves  proselytes  and  believing  themselves  to 
be  already  admitted  to  participate  in  the  Messianic  ban- 
quet, the  people  of  Peraea  must  ask  themselves  if  they  are 
able  to  endure  it.  Enthusiasm  counts  for  nothing;  it 
brings  them  to  the  gate  only,  but  not  beyond  the  threshold. 

It  is  in  order  to  avoid  deception  and  to  dispel  all  misun- 
derstanding that  the  Master,  turning  to  the  multitudes 
as  they  crowd  around  Him,  says:  "If  any  man  come  to 
JNIe,  and  hate  not  his  father,  and  mother,  and  wife,  and 
children,  and  brethren,  and  sisters,  yea  and  his  own  life 
also,  he  cannot  be  My  disciple."  This  condition,  however 
harsh  it  may  be,  is  necessarily  required.  Whatever  may 
be  in  danger  of  compromising,  by  its  anti-Christian  spirit, 
the  sovereign  love  which  we  owe  to  God,  the  worship  of 
His  truth,  and  the  observance  of  His  law,  must  be  hateful 
in  our  sight ;  we  must  break  with  it.  If  this  danger  arises 
from  those  beings  who  are  most  intimately  bound  to  our 
life,  even  if  it  arises  from  ourselves,  we  must  learn  to  make 
our  decision  resolutely,  and  part  from  our  parents,  our 
friends,  our  habits ;  we  must  learn  to  put  aside  our  dear- 
est affections  and  even  our  own  nature.  A  true  disciple 
can  allow  no  obstacle  to  the  perfect  charity  which  he  has 
vowed  to  his  God.  His  hatred  in  this  case  proves  his  love. 
But  this  hatred  does  not  affect  those  poor  creatures  to 
whom  we  are  bound  from  the  depths  of  our  being,  but  only 
the  spirit  that  animates  them  and  that  may  be  fatal  to 

[396] 


BOOK  III]  A  FIRST  ENTHUSIASM 

us.  This  is  so  true  that  our  duty  is  to  prove  to  them  that 
we  love  them,  nevertheless,  by  our  efforts  to  rid  them  of 
the  spirit  that  makes  us  detest  them. 

How  many  will  have  the  courage  to  break  with  every- 
thing that  is  not  according  to  the  Gospel,  and  thus  stifle 
their  own  hearts,  that  they  may  the  better  follow  the 
Master,  especially  when  they  know  that  this  first  sacrifice 
may  soon  be  followed  by  another?  For  the  disciples  are 
liable  to  be  summoned  to  immolate  not  only  their  hearts, 
but  their  very  bodies.  Moral  martyrdom  may  be  succeeded 
by  physical.  "And  whosoever  doth  not  carry  his  cross 
and  come  after  Me,  cannot  be  My  disciple."  Elsewhere 
we  have  seen  the  meaning  of  this  expression,  which  was 
too  unusual  not  to  have  a  prophetic  sense.  Calvary  will 
soon  become  its  authentic  and  bloody  explanation.  But, 
however  fearful  the  anguish  may  be,  to  be  truly  faithful, 
one  must  feel  himself  capable  of  sharing  it.  Besides,  even 
without  violent  persecution,  a  man,  from  the  very  fact  that 
he  desires  to  be  a  Christian,  will  be  always  a  martyr.  If 
the  wicked  put  the  Cross  upon  his  shoulder,  he  must  accept 
and  bear  it;  if  they  do  not,  he  must  seek  it  himself,  and 
fasten  himself  to  it  with  his  own  hands,  in  battling  with 
his  passions,  tearing  from  his  heart  all  that  is  not  for 
God,  bruising  his  rebellious  body,  if  need  be,  in  order  to 
chastise  and  bring  it  into  subjection.  All  this  is  severe 
and  requires  thought  on  the  part  of  one  who  thinks  to 
present  himself  for  discipleship. 

"For  which  of  you,"  continues  Jesus,  "having  a  mind 
to  build  a  tower,  doth  not  first  sit  down  and  reckon  the 
charges  that  are  necessary,  whether  he  have  wherewithal 
to  finish  it?  Lest  after  that  he  have  laid  the  foundation, 
and  is  not  able  to  finish  it,  all  that  see  it  begin  to  mock 
him,  saying:  This  man  began  to  build,  and  was  not  able 
to  finish."     Such  should  be  the  foresight  of  him  who  pur- 

[397] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

poses  to  embrace  the  Christian  hfe.  This  Hfc  is  likened 
to  a  tower,  because  by  its  moral  beauty  it  rises  above  the 
plane  of  common  life.  To  embrace  it  means  to  draw  on 
one's  self  the  eyes  of  the  multitude  from  which  he  deter- 
mines to  separate  publicly.  The  Christian  ideal  entrances 
man,  and  at  first  he  is  eager  to  attain  it.  But  imagina- 
tion and  enthusiasm  do  not  suffice  for  this  moral  achieve- 
ment. There  is  required  a  solid,  durable  fund  of  gen- 
erosity. Each  day  he  will  be  called  upon  to  make  new 
sacrifices,  to  hate  his  own  life,  to  practise  difficult  virtues. 
Will  he  have  the  courage  to  persevere.''  Before  undertaking 
it,  it  is  well  to  put  this  question  to  one's  self  in  the  silence 
of  meditation.  Nothing  is  more  humiliating  to  the  Church 
than  premature  conversions,  because  they  are  not  durable. 
Great  reports  had  been  spread  concerning  them,  and  sud- 
denly it  is  learned  that  they  have  been  interrupted  and 
that  they  amount  to  nothing.  The  world,  with  a  wicked 
joy,  proclaims  that  it  has  to-day  recaptured  him  who, 
yesterday,  had  left  it  with  such  eclat.  The  imprudent 
neophyte  had  not  seriously  calculated  his  moral  resources, 
and  he  halts  powerless  after  the  first  effort  of  an  untimely 
zeal.  He  has  succeeded  only  in  making  the  worldling 
laugh  and  good  Christians  feel  sad. 

"Or  what  king,"  says  Jesus  again,  "about  to  go  to  make 
war  against  another  king,  doth  not  first  sit  down  and 
think  whether  he  be  able  with  ten  thousand  to  meet  him 
that  with  twenty  thousand  cometh  against  him?  Or  else 
while  the  other  is  yet  afar  off,  sending  an  embassy,  he 
desireth  conditions  of  peace."  ^  The  Christian  is  a  king, 
since  to  serve  God  is  to  reign.  But  he  must  not  expect 
to  have  the  crown  without  a  struggle.     He  cannot  even 

^This  last  detail  is  one  of  the  rhetorical  embellishments  of  the  parable 
to  which  no  attention  must  be  given,  if  we  wish  to  avoid  considerable  em- 
barrassment.    Jesus  cannot  mean  to  say  that  man,  finding  himself  in- 

[398] 


BOOK  III]  A  FIRST  ENTHUSIASM 

hope  to  keep  it  without  being  continually  undei*  arms. 
He  must,  therefore,  see  whether  he  has  the  strength  to 
fight  the  enemy.  If  he  has  not,  let  him  abstain  from 
plotting  to  obtain  the  royalty.  It  were  better  never  to 
be  king  than  to  be  forced  to  abdicate  in  shameful  defeat 
and  to  go  and  die  in  the  dungeon  of  an  exile.  Does  the 
man  who  desires  to  follow  Jesus,  feel  enough  heroism  in 
his  heart  to  stifle  there  all  his  passions,  enough  vital  sap 
to  give  growth  there  to  all  the  virtues.-^  Can  he  under- 
take this  dangerous  war,  build  this  lofty  tower.''  Let  him 
come  to  the  Master ;  he  shall  be  happy.  If,  an  enthusiastic 
disciple  the  first  day,  he  is  to  become  only  a  renegade  the 
next,  let  him  go  his  way.  His  name  would  dishonour  the 
valiant  army  of  the  Gospel.  "So  likewise,"  concludes  Jesus, 
"every  one  of  you  that  doth  not  renounce  all  that  he  pos- 
sesseth,  cannot  be  My  disciple."  Hard  as  this  condition 
may  seem,  it  is  indispensable.  To  pretend  to  establish  the 
new  society  with  inert,  selfish,  cowardly  elements,  would  be 
to  effect  nothing  great,  nothing  strong,  nothing  lasting. 
"Salt  is  good,"  ^  says  the  Master.  Its  savour,  penetrating 
the  meat,  preserves  it,  gives  a  relish  to  the  taste,  and  makes 
it  useful  for  mankind.  Thus  the  spirit  of  mortification, 
of  renouncement,  of  sacrifice,  personified  in  the  hard, 
austere  life  of  true  disciples,  will  spread  over  the  world 
like  a  handful  of  sharp-tasting  salt,  will  penetrate  the 
mass  and  check  corruption.  "But  if  the  salt  shall  lose  its 
savour,  wherewith  shall  it  be  seasoned.''"  Nothing  can 
replace  it  in  mankind,  who,  without  it,  dwelling  in  the 
midst  of  sin,  would  be  forever  lost.  The  salt  itself,  after 
its  decomposition,  would  come  to  a  sad  end.     "It  is  neither 

capable  of  coping  with  the  demon,  ought  to  make  peace  with  him.    Much 
less  can  we  understand  it  to  be  a  question  here  of  making  peace  with  God. 
The  only  thought  with  which  the  Master  wishes  us  to  be  penetrated  is  that 
the  chances  of  a  war  must  be  seriously  weighed  before  it  is  undertaken. 
^  Pliny  had  said :  "  Nil  sale  et  sole  utilius."     (Hist.  Nat.,  xxxi,  9.) 

[399] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [paht  second 

profitable  for  the  land,  nor  for  the  dunghill,  but  shall  be 
cast  out.     He  that  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear !" 

In  these  teachings  there  was  something  as  unyielding  as 
truth.  Jesus,  far  from  hiding  the  Cross,  pitilessly  por- 
trayed it  in  its  most  terrifying  aspect.  Reminding  the 
Apostles  that,  after  having  accepted  it,  they  were  no  longer 
free  to  reject  it,  He  declared  to  the  neophytes  that  they 
must  know  its  full  weight  before  they  take  it  up.  This 
language,  proud  without  being  disdainful,  conveyed  the 
loftiest  idea  of  the  young  Master  and  of  His  work.  One 
appreciates  especially  that  which  is  bought,  and  not  that 
which  is  given.  Jesus  seemed  to  close  the  gate  against 
proselytes  rather  than  open  it.  These  latter  eagerly  strove 
to  gain  an  entrance,  and  the  concourse  of  people  was  im- 
mense. 

Once  more  the  party  of  the  Pharisees,  perhaps  in  obe- 
dience to  instructions  from  Jerusalem,  was  aroused  against 
Him.  As  they  deemed  it  imprudent  to  assume  a  hostile 
attitude  toward  Jesus,  they  had  recourse  to  a  ruse.  Their 
orders  must  have  been  cunningly  to  induce  Him  to  leave 
Peraea  and  return  to  the  neighbourhood  of  the  capital. 
There  He  would  immediately  come  once  more  under  the 
eye  and  hand  of  the  Sanhedrim. 

In  all  probability,  Herod  was,  at  that  time,  at  Livias  or 
at  Machaerus,  that  is,  in  the  very  country  which  Jesus  was 
evangelising.  The  fact  that  he  was  near  by  was  employed 
in  an  effort  to  intimidate  the  young  Teacher  and  to  induce 
Him  to  go  suddenly  into  Judaea.  With  an  air  of  mystery 
and  pretending  to  be  friendly,  certain  Pharisees  came  and 
said  to  Him :  "Depart  and  get  Thee  hence,  for  Herod  hath 
a  mind  to  kill  Thee."  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  would  not  be 
impossible  for  the  Tetrarch  to  have  been  really  disturbed 
by  the  religious  agitation  of  which  Peraea  was  the  scene. 
But  did  he  need  any  intermediaries  to  make  known  his  dis- 

[400] 


BOOK  in]  A  FIRST  ENTHUSIASM 

pleasure  to  the  new  Prophet?  Even  if  this  displeasure 
were  real,  may  we  suppose  that  these  sectarians  had  suffi- 
cient sympathy  to  wish  to  warn  Jesus  of  it  and  to  withdraw 
Him  from  danger?  Certainly  not.  It  was  an  evil  motive 
alone  that  had  inspired  the  Pharisees'  conduct.  With  His 
penetrating  eye,  the  Master  measured  all  the  malice  of 
their  false  charity.  In  His  reply,  which  He  begs  them  to 
report  to  Herod,  He  begins  by  attacking  the  men  them- 
selves, thus  showing  that  He  was  not  duped  by  their  hypoc- 
risy. "Go,"  He  says,  "and  tell  that  fox.  Behold  I  cast 
out  devils,  and  do  cures  to-day  and  to-morrow,  and  the  third 
day  I  am  consummated.  Nevertheless  I  must  walk  to-day 
and  to-morrow  and  the  day  following,*  because  it  cannot 
be  that  a  prophet  perish  out  of  Jerusalem."  The  fox  is 
Herod,  if  he  really  gave  them  that  mission,  which  they 
have  just  fulfilled;  it  is  they  themselves,  if  they  planned  it. 
In  the  latter  case,  it  is  useless  for  them  to  carry  back  this 
answer  to  the  Tetrarch,  who  is  not  awaiting  it ;  they 
must  keep  it  for  themselves,  who  have  merited  it.  Besides, 
the  jealous  hate  of  all  will  soon  be  satisfied;  the  terrible 
catastrophe  is  rapidly  approaching.  To-day,  to-morrow, 
and  one  day  more ;  then  all  is  ended.  The  divine  plan  must 
be  fulfilled.  The  Victim  will  offer  Himself.  They  shall 
then  be  in  Jerusalem.  It  is  enough  that  John  the  Baptist 
should  have  been  slain  outside  of  the  Holy  City.  It  were 
unbecoming  once  more  to  deprive  the  capital  of  Judaism  of 
the  privilege  of  witnessing  the  death  of  its  prophets.  This 
response  was  as  cutting  in  its  irony  as  it  was  admirable  in 
its  resignation. 

Jesus  left  the  Pharisees  to  ponder  on  it  at  their  leisure, 
and  continued  to  evangelise  the  multitudes  that  came  to 
Him. 

*By  taking  these  three  days  literally,  one  would  reduce  to  the  meanest 
proportions  all  the  grandeur  and  solemnity  of  the  Master's  declaration. 

[401] 


CHAPTER  XII 
THE    MERCY    OF    GOD    IN    PARABLES 

God  Pities  the  Sinner,  Because  He  Sees  Him  in  Dan- 
ger :  THE  Parable  of  the  Lost  Sheep — He  Is  Sorry 
FOR  His  Errors,  Because  a  Man  Given  to  Sin  Is  One 
Just  Man  Less  to  Glorify  Him  :  the  Parable  of  the 
Lost  Groat — He  Loves  Him,  Because  the  Sinner  Is 
Ever  His  Son  :  the  Parable  of  the  Prodigal  Son — 
Final  Blow  Aimed  at  the  Jealous  Pharisees.  (St. 
Luke  XV,  1-32.) 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  while,  on  the  one  hand, 
Jesus  held  in  check  the  unreflecting  enthusiasm  of  the 
multitudes  and  seemed  to  repel  the  upright  men  of  Juda- 
ism by  saying:  "Reflect,  perhaps  you  are  not  equal  to  the 
sacrifice !"  on  the  other  hand.  He  attracted,  by  His  touch- 
ing kindness,  those  who  were  despised;  He  attracted  toll- 
gatherers  and  public  sinners,  whom  public  opinion  placed 
outside  the  law.  The  reason  of  this  is,  no  doubt,  that 
humility,  the  necessary  accompaniment  of  true  repentance, 
was  easier  for  the  latter  than  for  the  former.  The  man 
who  is  filled  with  shame  for  his  sin  is  often  nearer  to  justice 
than  the  proud  man  who  parades  his  false  sanctity. 

Among  these  unfortunates,  however  degraded,  many 
showed  themselves  deeply  touched  by  the  advances  of  this 
new  charity  thus  manifested   toward  them.     Hence  tliey 

[  402  ] 


BOOK  III]  THE   jMERCY  of   god 

gcave  themselves  freely  to  the  Master,  opening  their  hearts 
to  Him,  and  bringing  to  Him,  with  a  faith  that  was  un- 
reserved, the  most  generous  devotion.  From  this  arose 
affectionate  and  even  familiar  relations  between  these  sinners 
who  felt  themselves  loved  and  the  Teacher  Who  sought  to 
rehabilitate  and  save  them.  He  readily  admitted  them  to 
a  place  among  His  disciples,  or  went  Himself  to  sit  at  their 
table,  which,  in  the  Orient,  is  a  sign  of  the  most  cordial 
union.  In  Perjea,  as  well  as  in  Galilee,  this  gave  great 
scandal  to  the  Pharisees.  They  were  incapable  of  com- 
prehending how  one  can  hate  sin  while  loving  the  sinner, 
as  if  there  were  no  difference  between  mercy  and  conni- 
vance. Narrow  and  ungenerous  hearts,  they  judged  that  by 
showing  one's  self  to  be  the  friend  of  sinners,  one  became 
himself  a  sinner ;  as  if  it  were  not  the  privilege  of  the  sun's 
ray  to  penetrate  the  mire  without  staining  itself,  and  to 
remain  pure  while  aiding  the  growth  of  flowers  amid  the 
offal.  The  Apostle  is  especially  great  when  he  feels  the 
noble  passion  to  make  the  bad  good  and  to  save  what 
seemed  to  be  lost.  In  this  it  is  God  Himself  that  he  imitates 
or  obeys. 

For  God  is  never  Indifferent  in  His  attitude  toward  fallen 
man.  The  solicitude  with  which  He  surrounds  him  is  touch- 
ing. He  pities  him,  because  He  sees  that  he  is  miserable ; 
He  regrets  his  loss,  because,  having  given  him  a  soul,  it  dis- 
tresses Him  to  let  it  perish ;  He  loves  him,  because,  although 
disfigured  by  vice,  man  is  still  His  work  and  His  son.  One 
day,  when  the  Pharisees  and  the  Scribes  murmured,  as  they 
saw  the  tax-gatherers  and  sinners  mingling  familiarly  with 
the  groups  of  disciples,  Jesus,  happy  to  find  these  poor 
outcasts  by  His  side,  not  asking  for  miracles,^  but  listening 
to  His  words,  took  pains  to  develop  these  three  ideas  in  a 

*  The  text  says :  '^Haav  ejyiCovT€S  .  .    .  aKoveiy  avrov. 

[  4-03  ] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [pakt  second 

series  of  parables,  the  last  of  which,  that  of  the  prodigal 
son,  forms,  perhaps,  the  most  beautiful  page  of  the  Gospel. 
"What  man  of  you,"  He  says,  "that  hath  an  hundred 
sheep  ;  and  if  he  shall  lose  one  of  them,  doth  he  not  leave  the 
ninety  and  nine  in  the  desert,  and  go  after  that  which  was 
lost  until  he  find  it  ?"  ^  None,  indeed.  How,  then,  demand 
that  the  Shepherd  of  the  flock  of  Israel  should  do  other- 
wise.'' Scripture,  as  we  have  seen,  represented  the  Messiah 
as  the  official  Shepherd  of  the  people  of  God.  Jesus'  ad- 
versaries, those  revered  doctors  of  the  Synagogue,  were 
merely  subordinate  shepherds.  However,  as  they  were 
shepherds,  the  Master's  question  directly  referred  to  them. 
The  sheep  is  the  image  of  the  sinner  who  falls  rather 
through  ignorance,  through  lack  of  reflection,  through 
allurement,  than  through  malice.  Like  him,  the  sheep  may 
wander,  and,  like  him,  again,  it  cannot  save  itself  alone. 
Instinct  fails  to  lead  it  back  to  the  fold,  just  as,  for  the 
want  of  grace,  the  sinner  is  not  strong  enough  to  do 
penance.  The  sheep  is  unarmed  for  self-defence,  and, 
separated  from  the  flock,  it  is  an  easy  prey  for  the  enemy. 
Thus  the  sinner  without  help  from  on  high  is  fatally  ex- 
posed to  an  awful  death.  The  first  sentiment  inspired  by 
his  fault  and  his  abandonment  is  compassion.  By  this  same 
sentiment,  even  more  than  by  his  personal  interest,  the 
shepherd  is  inspired  to  leave  the  ninety-nine  sheep  in  the 
pasture  where  they  are  sheltered  from  all  danger,  and  to 
hasten  to  the  aid  of  his  poor  lost  one.  The  flock  here  is 
the  figure  of  Israel,  faithful  to  the  law  of  Moses,  awaiting 
the  Messiah-Redeemer.  Jesus  leaves  it  in  this  condition, 
comparatively  satisfactory,  to  hurry  after  those  of  the 
sons  of  the  promise  who  have  strayed  in  forgetfulness  of 
the  ordinances  of  the  law,  obeying  only  the  voice  of  their 

*The  desert,  in  Hebrew  midbar,  is  the  vague  region  where  the  flocks 
were  led  to  pasture. 

[  404] 


BOOK  III]  THE  MERCY  OF   GOD 

corrupted  nature.  He  goes  on  until  He  finds  them  in  the 
most  dangerous  places,  on  the  edge  of  the  abyss  where  wild 
beasts  inhabit.  Nothing  tires  His  patience ;  and  when  He 
has  found  the  lost  sheep,  continues  the  Master,  He  lays  it 
lovingly  on  His  shoulders.  He  must  bear  the  sinners,  as 
well  as  the  sins  of  the  world.  It  is  evident  that  He  has  Him- 
self experienced  all  those  delightful  sentiments  which  He 
so  happily  describes  in  the  good  shepherd :  anxiety  because 
the  sheep  is  lost,  courageous  efforts  to  recover  it,  gentle- 
ness and  tender  care  when  he  has  found  it  again,  the  joy  he 
feels  in  carrying  the  precious  burden  and  to  which  he  gives 
expression  by  inviting  his  friends  to  share  in  it. 

Although  it  is  not  expressly  stated,  we  may  suppose  that 
he  brings  it,  not  where  the  others  are,  but  into  his  house, 
since  it  is  there  that  he  gives  way  to  his  joy.  Are  we  to 
recognise  in  this  last  detail  a  particular  intention,  and  is 
the  shepherd's  lodge  a  privileged  place  for  the  recovered 
sheep  ?  Many  have  thought  so.  For  Jesus  does  not  return 
converted  sinners,  whom  He  bears  upon  His  shoulders,  to 
their  place  in  Judaism  properly  so  called ;  He  installs  them 
in  the  Christian  Kingdom,  which  is  His  own  house,  and 
raises  them  to  a  state  of  life  which  the  children  of  Abraham 
have  not  yet  known.  Thus  is  explained  how  there  is  more 
joy  over  a  single  sinner  whom  penance  has  enabled  to  unite 
himself  to  Jesus  Christ  in  the  new  Church,  than  over  ninety- 
nine  just  men  who,  content  with  their  lot,  hold  themselves 
still  bound  up  in  the  ceremonial  laws  of  the  Synagogue, 
and  do  not  dream  of  presenting  themselves  at  the  threshold 
of  the  new  society.  It  might  be,  however,  that  there  was 
in  this  nothing  more  than  the  expression  of  a  movement 
quite  natural  to  the  heart  of  man.  For  we  experience  joy 
and  love  for  another  in  inverse  ratio  to  the  anxiety  and  pain 
he  has  caused  us.  The  mother,  watching  her  ailing  child, 
seems  to  forget  those  who  are  in  good  health ;  and  if  the  sick 

[405] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [pakt  second 

one  recovers,  she  feels  in  this  happy  restoration  a  greater 
joy  than  for  the  perfect  health  of  all  her  other  children. 

However  that  may  be,  the  shepherd  invites  his  friends  to 
share  his  joy,  even  as  they  had  shared  his  anxiety.  "Rejoice 
with  me,"  he  says  to  them,  "because  I  have  found  my  sheep 
that  was  lost." 

This  tender  picture  of  the  shepherd's  contentment  is  the 
authentic  expression  of  the  joy  of  God  Himself  as  He  an- 
nounces to  the  Church  in  heaven  the  good  that  accrues  to 
the  Church  on  earth.  Nothing  is  exaggerated ;  it  is  drawn 
by  Him  Who  knows  the  secrets  of  the  bosom  of  the  Father. 
"I  say  to  you,"  Jesus  adds,  "that  even  so  there  shall  be  joy 
in  heaven  upon  one  sinner  that  doth  penance,  more  than 
upon  ninety-nine  just  who  need  not  penance."  Therefore, 
he  who  is  scandalised  because  Jesus  seeks  to  bring  back 
sinners,  is  scandalised  by  God  Himself,  and  that  which 
saddens  the  Pharisees  on  earth  rejoices  the  Angels  in 
heaven. 

Moreover,  the  inconsistency  of  Jesus'  adversaries  is 
equalled  only  by  their  malice.  Another  similitude  will  prove 
to  them  that  they  consider  very  wise,  in  ordinary  life,  that 
which  they  immoderately  condemn  in  the  relations  of  the 
spiritual  life.  Not  only  is  there  no  shepherd  who  does  not 
leave  his  flock  in  order  to  save  a  lost  sheep,  but,  as  the  Mas- 
ter adds,  "What  woman  having  ten  groats,  if  she  lose  one 
groat,  doth  not  light  a  candle  and  sweep  the  house  and  seek 
diligently  until  she  find  it?"  Here  is  a  second  motive  for 
the  solicitude  which  God  manifests  for  the  sinner.  Before, 
it  was  compassion  that  guided  the  shepherd.  Now,  it  is 
self-interest  that  directs  the  woman.  Has  man  any  real 
value  before  God  ?  Yes  ;  created  according  to  His  likeness, 
he  should,  by  a  life  in  keeping  with  His  idea.  His  law,  and 
His  love,  augment  His  glory.  A  soul  that  strays  is  a  coin 
wanting  in  the  divine  treasury.     Therefore  God  seeks  it 

[406] 


BOOK  III]  THE  MERCY  OF  GOD 

eagerly  even  among  the  offal  and  the  refuse  of  this  Jewish 
society,  where  public  sinners  and  prostitutes  are  hidden. 
With  indefatigable  patience,  He  first  brings  light  into  the 
depths  of  these  darkened  consciences.  Now,  by  a  series  of 
sad  events.  He  rouses  them ;  now,  by  the  influence  of  a 
friendly  word,  He  attracts  them.  At  the  same  time,  He 
breathes  into  them  the  powerful  breath  of  His  grace  which 
frees  them  of  all  the  stains  that  disfigure  them.  Finally 
as  the  result  of  this  persistent  work.  He  recovers  that  which 
was  lost.  What  joy,  then,  and  what  triumph!  Of  this, 
the  woman,  transported  with  delight,  who,  as  the  Master 
says,  "called  together  her  friends  and  neighbours,  saying : 
Rejoice  with  me,  because  I  have  found  the  groat  which  I 
had  lost,"  is  a  simple  and  touching  picture. 

Like  this  woman,  the  Church,  striving  for  nineteen  cen- 
turies to  fulfil  the  desire  of  God's  mercy,  has  not  inter- 
rupted for  an  instant  her  search  after  lost  souls.  She 
holds  her  light,  which  is  the  Gospel,  In  her  hand,  and  its 
powerful  word  serves  her  to  throw  into  confusion  believers 
and  unbelievers.  Bravely  attacking  every  vice,  her  untiring 
zeal  cleanses,  penetrates,  brings  the  light  of  day  Into  the 
most  obscure  corners  of  her  house.  Thus,  she  often  suc- 
ceeds In  restoring  to  the  divine  treasury  the  soul  that  had 
strayed  away.  There  Is  great  joy  on  such  occasions  on 
earth  and  in  heaven  among  the  true  children  of  God.  Only 
the  bad  are  scandalised  by  these  endeavours,  and  are  sad- 
dened by  the  success  that  crowns  them,  irritated,  Jesus  ob- 
serves once  more,  by  the  very  fact  that  gives  pleasure  to 
the  angels  and  the  saints. 

Happily  for  these  jealous  people,  God  pursues  His  work 
of  mercy  none  the  less  even  in  their  behalf,  and  solicits  with 
His  grace  even  the  ingrates  who  blame  Him.  The  reason 
is  because  He  loves  the  sinner,  not  simply  as  the  shepherd 
loves  his  sheep,  or  as  the  poor  woman  her  groat ;  He  feels 

[407] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

for  this  wretched  being  an  affection  stronger,  deeper,  more 
imperious.  He  feels  the  inexhaustible  tenderness  of  a 
father's  love.  Herein  lies  the  whole  secret  of  divine  mercy. 
That  it  may  be  well  understood,  Jesus  adds  a  third  parable, 
the  most  beautiful  and  the  most  touching  one  He  ever 
uttered.  Let  us  pity  him  who,  while  reading  it,  feels  no 
tear  mounting  to  his  eye,  no  good  emotion  stirred  up  in 
his  heart.  He  is  dead  to  love,  and  his  hardness  of  heart  is 
beyond  hope. 

"A  certain  man  had  two  sons."  This  man  is  God,  and 
the  two  sons  are  the  just  and  the  sinners,  who  constitute 
the  entire  human  family.  "And  the  younger  of  them  said 
to  his  father :  Father,  give  me  the  portion  of  substance  that 
falleth  to  me."  It  was  thus  that  in  the  days  of  their  great 
apostasy  the  sinful  Gentiles  had  boldly  broken  away  from 
the  true  God.  Thus  again  parts  from  Him  that  class  of 
the  Jews  who  make  common  cause  with  the  Pagans,  pub- 
licans, people  of  sinful  lives,  and  whoever  tramples  on  God's 
law  in  order  to  follow  unbridled  the  instincts  of  perverted 
nature.  It  is  not  yet  time  for  him  to  receive  his  inheritance ; 
and  still,  with  resolute  voice  and  in  words  that  express  all 
that  he  knows  of  the  law,^  but  no  filial  sentiment  of  his 
heart,  the  son  claims  as  a  right  and  not  as  a  favour  a  third 
of  his  father's  fortune.  According  to  Moses,^  the  remain- 
der was  the  portion  of  the  eldest.  Nothing  else  than  an 
immoderate  desire  of  liberty  could  have  inspired  this 
younger  son  to  this  woful  conduct.  The  upright  life  of 
his  family  weighs  upon  him.  The  world  allures  him.  He 
longs  to  be  his  own  master.  Thus  the  libertine  declares 
that  the  atmosphere  of  religion  and  virtue,  in  which  he 
had  passed  his  earliest  years,  now  stifles  him.    The  tempter 

^  See  Wetstein  on  this  passage.     He  shows  very  clearly,  according  to 
profane  authors,  all  that  was  technical  in  this  demand  of  the  young  man. 
*Deut.  xxi,  7;Michaelis,  Mos.  R.,  §  79. 

[408] 


BOOK  in]  THE  MERCY  OF   GOD 

has  murmured  in  his  ear  that  it  is  time  he  were  his  own 
god,*  and  this  youth  in  his  imprudence  hopes  to  make  the 
fortune  which  he  is  going  to  receive,  and  the  freedom  which 
it  will  assure  him,  a  pedestal  for  his  wof ul  divinity.  In  this 
first  act  of  pride,  which  is  the  sin  of  sins,  is  found,  in  germ, 
all  the  woes  of  the  future.  What  a  difference  between  the 
attitude  of  the  just  man  and  that  of  the  sinner!  The  one, 
with  affectionate  and  filial  submission  of  soul,  says  to  the 
Father:  "Give  us  this  day  our  supersubstantial  bread." 
And  on  the  day  following  he  desires  the  pleasure  of  asking 
it  again  as  on  the  day  before;  he  is  happy  in  resigning 
himself  ever  to  His  kind  will.  The  other,  detesting  the 
sweet  servitude  of  the  family  and  scorning  its  tender  joys, 
already  in  revolt  against  the  paternal  authority,  cries  out : 
"Give  me  what  is  mine,  and  let  me  go !" 

And  the  father  "divided  unto  them  his  substance." 
Since  the  son's  heart  was  no  longer  content  at  the  domestic 
fireside,  there  was  nothing  better  to  do  than  to  let  him  de- 
part. So  God,  Who  created  man  free,  permits  him  to  with- 
draw when  he  feels  himself  no  longer  happy  in  His  service. 
Since  the  holy  independence  which  he  enjoyed  in  the  fulfil- 
ment of  duty  does  not  suffice  for  him,  let  him  go  and  try 
if  hcentiousness  be  better.  It  is,  no  doubt,  with  regret  that 
the  father  sees  this  well-beloved  son  hastening  away  to  his 
ruin,  but  it  would  not  be  to  his  honour  to  detain  him  by 
violence;  we  may  even  say  that  it  is  not  in  his  power,  for 
the  emancipated  son  is  become  his  own  master.  Thus  God 
leaves  the  sinner  to  the  desires  of  his  own  heart,  as  the 
Apostle  says ;  ^  the  Holy  Spirit  ceases  to  strive  against  the 
violent  demand  of  concupiscence :  only  the  bitter  experience 
of  sin  can  lead  back  this  foolish  one  later  on. 

"And  not  many  days  after,  the  younger  son,  gathering 
all  together,  went  abroad  into  a  far  country."  As  the  in- 
0  Gen.  iii,  5.  '  Rom.  i,  24,  26,  28. 

[409] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [pakt  skcond 

grate  had  desired  not  only  to  be  his  own  master,  but  to  be 
master  far  from  his  father,  he  hastens,  that  he  may  depart 
without  delay,  to  convert  his  capital  into  money ;  he  pro- 
ceeds more  speedily,  perhaps,  than  is  necessary  to  safe- 
guard his  interests.  This,  however,  matters  little.  The 
fever  of  the  passions  has  seized  him;  his  folly  has  begun, 
he  no  longer  stops  to  calculate.  Without  even  bidding  fare- 
well to  his  sorrowful  father,  he  takes  everything  and  goes 
his  way.  Elementary  prudence  might  have  counselled  him 
to  make  some  provision  for  an  evil  day.  But  no,  passion 
must  have  all  in  order  to  sate  its  longings.  Thus,  possessed 
of  a  rich  nature,  a  noble  intelligence,  a  powerful  energy, 
man  sometimes  determines  to  abandon  God  and  His  law, 
and  to  seek  that  bustling  land  where  the  world  offers  him 
many  pleasures.  This  land  is  at  the  antipodes  of  the  pater- 
nal hearth.  The  name  of  the  Father  is  never  spoken  there. 
It  is  there  that  the  Gentiles  live,  the  publicans,  the  public 
sinners,  those  unfortunates  whom  thirst  for  enjoyment  has 
dragged  on. 

And  the  prodigal  "there  wasted  his  substance,  living 
riotously."  He  had,  then,  gathered  all  his  things  together 
with  all  that  care  only  the  more  quickly  to  scatter  them. 
In  the  name  of  freedom,  all  that  he  possessed  was  cast  into 
the  gulf.  The  light  of  his  intelligence  became  dim,  his  will 
had  energy  henceforth  only  for  evil,  and  in  his  soul,  in  the 
place  of  natural  integrity,  of  justice,  of  human  virtues, 
were  assembled  all  the  most  horrible  vices.  But  little  is 
required  to  despoil  man  of  gifts  of  mind  and  heart,  and 
to  deprive  him,  not  only  of  the  flower  of  youth  that  crowns 
his  brow,  but  also  of  every  element  of  personal  worth.  The 
wind  let  loose  upon  the  earth  without  God  to  control  it, 
promptly  hurls  to  the  ground  the  fruits  and  even  the  leaves 
of  the  tree,  and  then  begins  to  wither  the  tree  itself. 

"And  after  he  had  spent  all,  there  came  a  mighty  famine 
[410] 


BOOK  III]  THE  MERCY  OF  GOD 

in  that  country,  and  he  began  to  be  in  want."  "^  Liberty 
to  enjoy  has  therefore  its  Hmits.  Health,  fortune,  youth, 
fail  at  length ;  disgust  puts  an  end  to  pleasure,  remorse 
turns  it  to  poison.  The  thing  itself  sometimes  refuses  at 
last  the  enjoyment  that  we  seek  in  it,  and  leaves  us  panting 
with  the  desires  it  will  not  satisfy.  And,  as  a  climax  of 
misfortune,  unforeseen  accidents  occur  in  the  domestic  life ; 
death,  betrayal,  dishonour,  sudden  ruin  give  the  last  blow 
to  the  heart  of  the  sinner  and  cruelly  break  it.  To  have 
sacrificed  all  for  pleasure,  and  to  be  doomed  to  most  hope- 
less suffering,  is  fearful.  Yet  the  world,  a  veritable  land 
of  famine,  has  scarcely  any  other  lot  in  reserve  for  those 
whom  it  allures.  Without  truth  and  without  love,  it  can 
satisfy  no  one,  and  even  they  who  share  in  its  feasts  inspire 
pity  in  him  who  is  truly  wise,  because,  even  at  these  resplen- 
dent tables,  they  are  and  shall  always  be  famished.^ 

In  the  meantime,  the  habits  which  they  have  contracted, 
the  passions  which  they  have  aroused,  become  so  many  im- 
perative needs.  When  these  are  famished,  man  is  capable 
of  anything.  The  prodigal  had  now  but  one  thing  left, 
his  liberty,  for  the  sake  of  which  he  had  abandoned  his 
father's  roof,  and  had  made  the  acquaintance  of  every  ex- 
cess of  vice.  By  a  bitter  mockery  of  fortune,  which  is  a 
providential  chastisement  inflicted  upon  libertines,  behold, 
all  his  desires  for  independence  succeed  only  in  making  him 
the  most  miserable  of  slaves.  For,  that  he  may  not  die  of 
hunger,  he  is  going  to  sell  his  liberty. 

"And  he  went  and  cleaved  to  one  of  the  citizens  of  that 

'  The  expression  which  Jesus  employs  {varfpiiffBai)  signifies  destitu- 
tion, the  condition  of  a  man  reduced  to  extreme  poverty.  (Cf.  II  Cor.  xi, 
9;  Heir,  xi,  37.) 

*  St.  Ambrose  tells  the  reason  of  this :  "  Etenim  qui  recedit  a  verbo  Dei 
esurit,  quia  non  in  solo  pane  vivit  homo,  sed  in  omni  verbo  Dei ;  qui  recedit 
a  fonte,  sitit ;  qui  recedit  a  thesauro,  eget ;  qui  recedit  a  sapientia,  hebetatur ; 
qui  recedit  a  virtute,  dissohatur."     {In  Lucam  vii.) 

[  411  ] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [pakt  second 

country."  The  demons  are  the  proprietors,  the  citizens  of 
this  land  of  sin,  which  is  the  world.  Their  obstinate  malice 
has  made  this  their  condition  forever.  Faithless  man  has 
come  there  freely,  and  may  in  like  manner  depart.  He 
appears  in  that  land  merely  as  a  passer-by.  Therefore  he 
experiences  hunger  there.  Those  who  are  native  to  the 
place  seem  not  to  feel  it,  for  this  famine  is  their  normal 
state.  That  God  should  be  absent  from  these  reprobate 
demons  is  the  eternal  order.  That  He  should  be  absent  from 
man  on  his  journey  here  below,  is  a  disorder  in  time.  This 
torment  of  hunger  felt  by  the  prodigal  was  still  a  sign  of 
life ;  in  the  sinner  this  hunger  is,  at  it  were,  a  last  element 
of  moral  resurrection.  The  demons  no  longer  feel  it ;  or, 
at  least,  if  they  do,  it  is  under  the  form  of  a  frightful 
despair,  and  not  as  a  good  desire,  for  the  demons  are  irrevo- 
cably separated  from  their  God  and  deprived  of  eternal 
happiness.  What  could  the  wretched  youth  expect  from 
this  new  master  whom  he  chose?  Doubtless  bread  that  he 
might  live ;  but  if  he  obtained  only  bread,  he  must  have 
acknowledged  that  he  had  sold  at  a  very  low  price  his  honour 
as  a  son  of  the  house  and  his  liberty.  But  that  bread, 
which  the  just  man  receives  every  day,  stretching  forth  his 
filial  hand  to  the  Father  of  heaven,  the  prodigal  shall  not 
obtain  at  the  close  of  his  humiliating  labour,  by  asking  it 
of  his  earthly  master.  "And  he  sent  him  into  his  farm  to 
feed  swine."  It  would  have  been  difficult  to  have  assigned 
him  a  meaner  and  more  degrading  task.  Herodotus  '^  tells 
that  the  swineherds  were  the  only  class  of  men  against 
whom  the  Egyptians  shut  the  doors  of  their  temples.  The 
Jews  treated  them  even  more  harshly.^ '^  Thus  does  the 
world  do  with  the  imprudent  whom  it  has  seduced  by  its 
promises    of    independence.      When    they    have    sacrificed 

» Hist.,  ii,  47,  '0  See  Lightfoot,  Hor.  Hebr.,  in  Matt,  viii,  40. 

[412] 


BOOK  III]  THE  MERCY  OF  GOD 

everything,  property,  honour,  a  happy  and  virtuous  hfe,  it 
cruelly  gives  them  to  understand  that  they  are  nothing 
more  than  slaves,  and,  putting  into  their  hands  the  derisive 
sceptre  of  the  swineherd,  it  obliges  them  to  go  and  guide 
their  vile  passions  over  its  lands,  to  glean  there  a  livelihood 
as  insufficient  as  it  is  disgraceful. 

"And  he  would  fain  have  filled  his  belly  with  the  husks  ^^ 
the  swine  did  eat ;  and  no  man  gave  unto  him."  There  was 
not  enough,  therefore,  in  the  rations  of  bread,  which,  in 
this  time  of  famine,  were  distributed  to  the  servant.  The 
swine  were  less  unfortunate  than  their  keeper ;  and  as  he 
saw  them  eat  their  fill,  he  began  to  long  for  their  feed  as 
it  lay  in  the  trough. 

This  is  an  ugly  but  true  picture  of  the  sinner,  who, 
having  reached  the  very  lowest  level  of  moral  degradation, 
and  even  there  feeling  the  extreme  hunger  of  his  spiritual 
and  immortal  soul,  begins  to  regret  that  he  was  born  so 
great.  He  would  wish  to  be  like  the  beast,  a  machine  of 
sensations,  which  the  coarse  satisfactions  of  the  flesh  can 
satisfy,  and  which  finds  in  the  mire  the  object  of  its  am- 
bitions and  the  substance  of  its  desires.  But  that  shall  not 
be  given  him  any  more  than  the  coarse  vegetables  were 
to  the  prodigal.  He  shall  remain  either  eternally  famished 
without  God,  or  a  son  filled  with  good  things  in  his  Father's 
house.     No  other  alternative  is  possible. 

Alas !  what  a  course  this  youthful  ingrate  has  run,  and 
in  what  a  short  time !  What  an  awful  difference  between 
that  peaceful,  contented,  honourable  life  at  the  paternal 
fireside,  and  the  shameful  bondage  in  which  he  is  wasting 

"  The  word  Ktpdriov  does  not  signify,  as  the  translation  of  it  in  the  Vulgate 
(siliquoe)  would  seem  to  indicate,  the  husks  or  pods  of  any  fruit  whatever. 
It  was  the  fruit  of  the  tree  which  the  Greeks  called  KepaTwvla,  or  the  fig- 
tree  of  Egj^it  (cf.  Theophrastus,  H.  P.,  i,  17),  and  which  we  call  the 
carob-tree  (cf.  Rosenmiiller,  A.  u.  N.  Morgenland,  vol.  v,  p.  198).  There 
is  no  tree  more  common  than  this  even  in  the  land  beyond  the  Jordan  where 
Jesus  spoke  this  parable. 

[413] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [pakt  second 

away !  Artists  have,  Avith  masterly  strokes,  represented 
him,  alone,  seated  beneath  a  mournful  sky  in  the  midst  of 
a  landscape  devastated  by  the  hurricane.  His  long  hair, 
foul  from  neglect,  falls  unkempt  upon  liis  emaciated  shoul- 
ders ;  his  dull  eye  contemplates  a  recent  dream  or  a  painful 
recollection ;  the  filthy  herd  follows  at  his  feet.  His  tongue 
is  mute,  but  one  feels  that  a  long-drawn  and  painful  sigh  is 
heaved  from  his  panting  chest.  A  tear  rolls  down  his  cheeks 
burnt  with  passion.  In  the  ages  that  have  passed,  how 
many  sinners,  letting  their  gaze  fall  upon  this  sad  picture, 
have  said :  "I  am  such  a  man !" 

At  the  time  when  Jesus  appeared,  the  whole  pagan  world 
should  have  recognised  itself  in  this  touching  parable.  By 
departing  from  the  worship  of  the  true  God,  it  had  lost  all, 
and,  after  having  journeyed  through  the  long  stages  of 
the  most  shameful  decadence  without  being  either  consoled 
or  rehabilitated  by  philosophy,  it  made  a  trial  of  the  in- 
famous vices  and  hideous  cruelties  of  imperial  Rome  to  see 
if  it  could  assuage  the  hunger  which  all  the  gold  of  earth 
and  all  the  triumphs  of  pride  had  left  terrible  and  inex- 
orable in  the  entrails  of  her  children. 

Fortunately,  above  the  sinner,  as  above  straying  man- 
kind, there  is  a  Father.  The  Father's  heart  still  loves,  when 
ours  has  ceased  to  love  Him ;  His  strength  still  endures, 
when  we,  imprudent  and  weak,  have  fallen ;  His  mercy 
awaits,  solicits,  and  consoles  the  returning  culprit.  This 
heavenly  Father  fears  not  to  multiply  the  thorns  in  the  way 
of  him  who  has  strayed  away  and  to  make  his  estrangement 
sufficiently  intolerable  to  fill  him  with  disgust.^ ^  Oh,  the 
wonderful  and  loving  severity  of  God's  mercy  that  gives  us 
such  lessons  !  When  that  mercy  speaks  a  harsh  and  terrible 
language  to  a  foolish  man,  it  is  because  in  his  obstinacy  he 

^^  St.  Augustine,  in  Ps.  cxxxviii,  3,  4. 
[  414  ] 


BooKiiij  THE   MERCY  OF   GOD 

shuts  his  ears  and  is  incapable  of  hearing  any  other.  Ex- 
treme misery  with  all  its  sufferings  is  the  last  stroke  of 
grace.  The  sinner  either  dies  of  it  once  and  for  all,  or 
saves  himself  by  retreat.  This  is  the  critical  moment,  the 
eventful  hour  in  the  development  of  the  moral  drama. 

"And  the  prodigal  returned  to  himself."  Man  is  lost  by 
giving  himself  up  to  culpable  allurements ;  he  is  saved  by 
gathering  himself  together  in  order  to  resume  possession 
of  his  soul.  The  day  on  which  he  silences  the  boisterous 
voice  of  external  things,  he  hears  more  distinctly  the  inmost 
murmurings  of  his  conscience,  and  then  begins  his  resur- 
rection. 

"He  said :  How  many  hired  servants  in  my  father's  house 
abound  with  bread,  and  I  here  perish  with  hunger !"  Noth- 
ing could  be  more  natural  than  this  comparison.  When  a 
man  at  last  gets  rid  of  his  horrible  illusion,  he  beholds  him- 
self full  of  disorder,  folly,  and  woe.  This  is  the  more  hate- 
ful in  that  he  can  see  above  his  head  the  heavenly  bodies 
following,  in  their  great  evolutions,  the  word  of  command 
received  from  God,  without  ever  deviating  from  their 
course ;  round  about  him,  all  nature  in  its  unconscious  but 
perpetual  regularity,  ever  glorif3nng  the  Creator,  and  at 
his  feet,  the  very  beasts  finding  their  relative  happiness  in 
obeying,  as  a  divine  law,  the  voice  of  instinct  that  directs 
them.  All,  except  him,  is,  therefore,  in  order,  and  every- 
thing is  happy  in  the  various  spheres  of  creation,  wherein, 
however,  nothing  is  so  great  as  he,  since  these  creatures 
without  liberty  are  not  God's  sons,  but  only  blind  servants 
and  slaves.  He  alone,  in  this  universe  full  of  harmony  and 
of  beauty,  is  a  shadow  on  the  picture,  a  living  disorder, 
a  rebel.  And,  as  a  consequence  of  his  crime,  he  alone  is 
unhappy. 

The  contrast  was  crushing;  the  sentiment  to  which  it 
gave  birth  was  decisive.    He  who,  in  profound  misery,  thus 

[  415  ] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

evoked  the  memories  of  his  father's  house,  suddenly  paused 
at  a  thought  that  must  have  made  him  tremble.  It  seemed 
strange,  but  it  was  true.  This  overwhelming  but  salutary 
light  came  from  his  heart;  he  could  not  reject  it.  The  old 
days  and  the  present,  his  family  and  the  swine,  most  per- 
fect comfort  and  most  frightful  distress,  were  so  many 
antitheses  which,  rising  up  all  at  once  in  his  soul,  inspired 
him  with  lively  disgust  for  the  present  and  bitter  regret 
for  the  past.  Thus  repentance  begins.  Let  but  a  move- 
ment of  confident  love  succeed  this,  and  it  will  be  complete, 
and,  with  a  strong  resolution,  it  will  revive  his  virtue.  "I 
will  arise,"  ^^  said  the  young  man,  as  he  overcame  his  last 
fears  inspired  by  shame,  "and  will  go  to  my  father."  He 
dares  then,  even  yet,  to  utter  the  name  of  him  whom  he  has 
dishonoured.  It  must  have  been  only  with  tears  and  sobs. 
His  heart  has  told  him  that  he  must  hope,  just  the  same,  in 
the  virtue  of  that  blessed  name,  and  in  the  fund  of  tender- 
ness which  it  implies  in  him  who  bears  it.  Therefore  he 
will  resolutely  make  it  the  first  word  and  the  chief  argu- 
ment of  his  discourse.  Rhetoric  could  not  have  supplied 
him  with  any  more  beautiful  exordium.  "I  will  say  to  him," 
pursued  the  young  man,  as  he  felt  confidence  growing  in 
his  heart :  "Father,  I  have  sinned  against  heaven  and  before 
thee."  Heaven  counts  the  bitter  tears  that  every  wicked 
son  draws  from  the  heart  of  his  father,  and  will  avenge 
them  soon  or  late.  "I  am  not  now  worthy  to  be  called 
thy  son ;  make  me  as  one  of  thy  hired  servants."  There 
is  nothing  lacking  in  this  beautiful  repentance,  neither 
frankness  as  to  the  line  of  conduct  planned,  nor  firmness 
in  his  filial  confidence,  nor  directness  in  his  unexcused  con- 
fession. The  sinner  is  so  humiliated  by  the  thought  of  his 
faithlessness  that  he  does  not  dream  of  the  possibility  of 

'^  The  word  avcurrds,  repeated  two  verses  farther  on,  indicates  well  the 
moral  effort  necessary  in  a  true  conversion. 

[416] 


BOOK  III]  THE  MERCY  OF  GOD 

a  complete  restoration.  To  gain  the  last  place,  when  by 
right  he  had  occupied  the  first,  seems  to  him  to  be  the  great- 
est favour  that  he  can  desire.  There  is  something  aston- 
ishing in  the  moral  greatness  which  sincere  humility  can 
impart  in  a  moment  even  to  the  most  degraded  and  most 
wretched  souls. 

Without  an  instant's  delay  in  the  fulfilment  of  his  brave 
resolution :  "Rising  up,  he  came  to  his  father."  True  re- 
pentance does  not  hesitate  to  act,  it  moves  as  soon  as  it 
has  spoken. 

There  is  a  touching  detail  in  this  that  from  the  day  of 
that  sad  separation  the-  father's  heart  had  never  ceased  to 
hope  for  his  son's  return.  In  his  long  experience  of  life, 
he  had  counted  the  hours  necessary  for  the  young  ingrate 
to  be  led  by  want  to  better  sentiments.  For  a  long  time, 
many  times  a  day,  he  had  scanned  the  horizon  longingly, 
and  in  the  evening  he  went  back  to  his  dwelling  in  sadness, 
for  he  had  not  seen  his  poor  lost  son  returning.^  ^  Thus 
our  Father  in  heaven,  with  untiring  and  ever- watchful  love, 
waits  for  the  prodigals  of  earth  to  arise  at  last  and  return 
to  Him.  No  sooner  does  He  perceive  a  good  impulse  in  our 
hearts,  than  His  tenderness  breaks  its  bonds,  and,  setting 
aside  all  severity,  He  goes  so  far  as  to  forget  all  justice. 
We  have  scarcely  time  to  take  one  step  toward  Him,  before 
He  has  taken  ten  toward  us,  and  our  lips  have  not  begun 
to  stammer  forth  a  word  of  regret,  before  He  has  already 
overwhelmed  us  with  His  merciful  caresses. 

"And  when  he  was  yet  a  great  way  off,  his  father  saw 
him  and  was  moved  with  compassion,  and,  running  to  him, 
fell  upon  his  neck  and  kissed  him."  What  a  touching 
scene !  The  sight  of  his  son  covered  with  shame,  disfigured 
and  disgraced  in  his  misery,  stirs  up  in  the  father's  heart, 

'*The  text  suggests  all  these  details:  en  5«  auroO  naKpav  airexovTOi,  flSev 
avrhv  6  irarijp,  k.  t.  \. 

[417] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

as  it  were,  a  renewal  of  affection.  No  one  else  could  recog- 
nise in  this  sad  ruin  the  young  man  who  had  departed  so 
beautiful  and  so  proud  of  his  liberty ;  he  has  the  courage 
to  acknowledge  beneath  those  sordid  tatters  his  blood,  his 
likeness,  his  heir.  From  this  moment  nothing  withholds 
him,  neither  the  sentiment  of  his  outraged  dignity,  nor 
the  weight  of  his  years  and  the  respect  for  his  white  hairs ; 
he  runs,  he  hurries  on  precipitately.  What  if,  unfor- 
tunately, this  son  should  hesitate  at  the  last  moment,  and 
turn  back !  In  his  arms  he  wishes  to  bind  him ;  with  a  kiss 
he  wishes  to  tell  him  of  his  love  more  tender  now  since  he 
had  lost  him ;  on  his  breast  he  wishes  to  receive  him  and  to 
smother,  before  it  is  even  uttered,  his  cry  of  repentance. 
For  the  son,  indeed,  scarcely  begins  his  avowal:  "Father, 
I  have  sinned  against  heaven  and  before  thee;  I  am  not 
worthy  to  be  called  thy  son,"  when  the  father  has  closed 
his  lips.  He  seems  unable  to  endure  such  language. 
Assuredly  this  confession  is  an  act  of  justice,  but  this  act 
becomes  too  painful  for  him  by  reason  of  the  memories 
it  recalls  and  the  grief  it  expresses.  Besides,  what  need 
has  the  father  of  hearing  the  mouth  speak  when  he  feels 
so  deeply  in  his  own  heart  the  heart-beats  of  his  son.'' 
O  God!  how  great  is  Thy  love,  if  this  be  its  history,  and 
how  wicked  the  sinner  who  still  seeks  to  avoid  Thy  fatherly 
embrace,  or  to  despair  of  pardon  because  he  mistrusts  Thy 
mercy !  "Bring  forth  quickly,"  said  the  father  to  the 
servants  who  had  hastened  to  witness  his  joy,  "the  first 
robe,  and  put  it  on  him,  and  put  a  ring  on  his  hand,  and 
shoes  on  his  feet,  and  bring  hither  the  fatted  calf,^'^  and 
kill  it."  This  reinstatement  is  as  complete  as  it  is  sudden. 
The  father  will  not  let  a  trace  remain  of  the  guilty  folly 
of  his  son.     The  richest  costume  shall  replace  his  rags ; 

"  This  was  the  calf  that  was  fatted  for  family  feasts.     (/  Kings  xxviii, 
24.) 

[418] 


BOOK  III]  THE   MERCY  OF   GOD 

sandals  shall  protect  his  bleeding  feet ;  and  the  ring,  with 
its  seal,  the  insignia  of  a  free  man,^*'  shall  tell  to  all  that 
the  well-beloved  son  has  regained  his  rights  as  a  lord  in  his 
father's  house.  So  does  God  grant  to  the  repentant  sinner 
the  justice  that  purifies  him,  the  grace  that  guards  his 
steps,  the  holy  liberty  that  honours  the  children  of  the 
Kingdom.  With  joyous  song,  the  banquet  of  love  and 
thanksgiving  is  prepared,  and  the  father  guides  to  his 
place  with  all  his  friends  his  now  wise  and  repentant  son. 

"Let  us  eat  and  make  merry,"  he  says,  "because  this  my 
son  was  dead,  and  is  come  to  life  again ;  was  lost,  and  is 
found."  ^^  We  feel  that  the  father's  heart  is  overflowing 
with  liveliest  joy,  and  that  he  wishes  every  one  to  share  it. 
For  what  greater  happiness  could  come  to  him !  His  son 
has  escaped  from  death,  and  he  himself  has  regained  the 
beloved  one  whom  he  had  lost.  The  rejoicings  and  the 
banquet  began  at  once. 

Here  in  reality  ends  the  sublime  parable  in  its  most  gen- 
eral application  and  most  lofty  signification.  The  second 
picture  which  the  Master  is  about  to  sketch  is  only  a  lesson 
addressed  to  the  egotistical  Pharisees,  and  for  us  has  not 
the  same  importance.  With  the  most  complete  details  in 
a  sort  of  epilogue,  Jesus  sets  before  the  eye  those  whom  His 
mercy  has  just  moved  to  murmur.  Nothing  could  be  more 
strongly  drawn  or  more  lively  than  this  portrait  of  the 
Pharisee  in  his  jealousy  and  pride. 

"Now,"  added  Jesus,  "his  elder  son  was  in  the  field." 
Thus,  while  the  publicans  are  rejoicing  and  resign  them- 
selves to  the  mercy  of  God,  the  Pharisees,  without  enthu- 

'"  Gen.  xli,  42;  Si.  James  ii,  2;  comp.  Herod,  ii,  38.  This  ring,  ^aKTvXiov, 
bore  a  name-seal  and  was  used  in  signatures.  The  prodigal  had  sold  his 
long  since. 

"  This  parable  sums  up,  therefore,  the  two  preceding:  the  son  had  fallen 
a  prey  to  the  wolf  like  the  sheep,  and  has  at  last  been  saved;  and  he  was 
lost,  like  the  groat,  and  after  much  anxiety  the  father  has  recovered  him. 

[419] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [pabt  second 

siasm,  sad,  and  selfish,  are  labouring  beneath  the  heavy  yoke 
of  the  law.  "And  when  he  came  and  drew  nigh  to  the  house, 
he  heard  music  and  dancing."  Of  a  gloomy  disposition  and 
narrow  mind,  he  was  annoyed.  Rather  than  enter  in  all 
simplicity  and  see  for  himself,  "he  called  one  of  the 
servants,  and  asked  what  these  things  meant."  Simple 
souls  advance  straight  to  their  goal.  Narrow,  fastidious 
natures  think  that  by  surrounding  themselves  with  mani- 
fold precautions,  by  assuming  an  air  of  severity,  by  con- 
ducting themselves  with  an  affected  reserve,  they  acquire 
true  piety.  Everything  offends  them,  and  it  seems  to  them 
that  they  can  love  God  only  in  sadness  and  in  lamentation. 
When  a  man  experiences  so  much  repugnance  in  partici- 
pating in  legitimate  family  rejoicings,  it  is  a  sign  ordi- 
narily that  he  cherishes  jealous  thoughts,  and,  in  this  way, 
his  morose  and  harsh  attitude  is  explained.  The  servant 
related  the  facts  as  he  knew  them :  "Thy  brother,"  he  said, 
*'is  come,  and  thy  father  hath  killed  the  fatted  calf,^*  be- 
cause he  hath  received  him  safe."  A  good  son  would  have 
rejoiced  that  his  brother  had  been  found  and  his  father 
filled  with  delight.  "He  was  angry,  and  would  not  go  in." 
In  like  manner,  the  souls  of  the  Pharisees,  whose  hearts  had 
long  since  been  withered  by  their  detestable  pride,  are  in- 
dignant at  seeing  sinners,  publicans.  Gentiles  return  to  the 
Heavenly  Father's  hearth,  as  if  they  had  not  once  occupied 
their  place  as  sons  beneath  the  paternal  roof.  They  refuse 
to  enter  with  the  multitude,  and  prefer  to  renounce  salva- 
tion, rather  than  share  therein  by  the  side  of  prodigals 
returning  from  so  far,  and  so  mercifully  welcomed  by  God. 
"His  father,  therefore,  coming  out,  began  to  entreat 
him."    The  old  man's  love  is  inexhaustible ;  here  once  more 

^*  The  servant  repeats  here  what  the  father  himself  had  said  a  moment 
before;  but  what  a  difference  between  the  language  of  the  one  and  that  of 
the  other !    The  one  had  spoken  as  a  father ;  the  other  as  a  servant. 

[420] 


BOOK  in]  THE  MERCY  OF  GOD 

he  makes  the  first  advance  toward  this  other  son  who  is 
indeed  unworthy  of  him.  And  Jesus,  Who  is  speaking  to 
the  Pharisees,  is  truly  the  Father  of  heaven  hastening 
toward  the  discontented  son  with  as  much  charity  as  He 
had  approached  the  prodigal  son.  It  is  a  striking  con- 
trast !  The  sinner  had  been  admirable  in  his  humility  and 
respect  before  his  father;  the  just  man  is  remarkable  by 
his  pride,  his  irreverence,  his  obstinacy.  "Behold,  for  so 
many  years,"  he  said  spitefully,  "do  I  serve  thee,  and  I 
have  never  transgressed  thy  commandment,  and  yet  thou 
hast  never  given  me  a  kid  to  make  merry  with  my  friends." 
Thus  speaks  the  presumptuous  satisfaction  of  the  Pharisee. 
Shamelessly  he  declares  that  he  has  counted  the  years  which 
he  spent  with  his  Father  and  that  he  has  found  them  long 
— the  wretched  man  has  served  and  has  not  loved — and  con- 
fidently proclaims  that  he  has  been  sinless  ;^^  and  with  a 
soul  too  small  to  comprehend  that  the  best  of  all  rewards 
is  the  paternal  love,  he  complains  that  he  has  never  received 
any  recompense  at  the  close  of  his  labours.  How  his 
jealousy  is  pleased  to  set  forth  the  favours  of  which  his 
brother  is  the  object!  No  detail  escapes  his  malicious  em- 
phasis. He  desires  the  contrast  to  be  a  striking  one,  so 
that  the  father's  partiality  may  be  evident.  "But,"  he  adds, 
"as  soon  as  this  thy  son  is  come,  who  hath  devoured  his 
substance  with  harlots,  thou  has  killed  for  him  the  fatted 
calf !"  What  bitterness  in  these  words !  He  does  not  say, 
my  brother,  but,  thy  son ;  can  it  be  that  he  no  longer  wishes 
to  belong  to  the  family  himself.''  He  designates  his  brother 
with  a  word  of  scorn :  this,  he  says,  is  come,  as  if  it  were 
question  of  a  stranger  who  appeared  for  the  first  time  at 
the  domestic  fireside.  At  the  same  time  he  forgets  nothing 
that  will  make  the  case  complete  against  his  brother :  he  has 

^'  We  shall  find  the  perfect  development  of  this  sentiment  in  the  parable 
in  which  Jesus  draws  a  parallel  between  the  Pharisee  and  the  publican. 

[421  ] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

devoured  all  his  substance,  and  that  with  harlots,  while  he, 
the  irreproachable,  just  man,  scrupulously  respected  his 
father's  will.  Thus  he  believes  that,  in  proportion  as  he 
crushes  the  prodigal,  he  will  advance  his  own  interests  ;  but, 
behind  this  jealous  pride,  we  perceive  that  this  wretched 
brother  has  done  good  without  having  any  love  for  it,  and 
avoided  evil  without  hating  it. 

However,  such  detestable  sentiments  exhaust  the  father's 
goodness  no  more  than  the  follies  of  the  prodigal  had  ex- 
hausted his  mercy.  "Son,"  ^*'  he  said  to  him  with  perfect 
kindness,  "thou  art  always  with  me,  and  all  I  have  is  thine ; 
but  it  was  fit  that  we  should  make  merry  and  be  glad,  for 
this  thy  brother  was  dead  and  is  come  to  life  again,  he  was 
lost  and  is  found."  With  what  condescension  he  deigns  to 
reply  to  the  wicked  recriminations  of  this  eldest  son !  After 
having  endeavoured  to  arouse  in  him  all  the  affection  that 
he  might  be  capable  of,  by  calling  him  his  dear  child,  he 
tells  him  delicately  that,  living  in  his  house,  under  his 
eye,  surrounded  with  his  love,  he  should  have  been  filled 
with  joy  every  day.  Besides,  he  has  been  always  master 
there,  welcome  to  whatever  he  desired.  His  father  had 
never  refused  anything.  If  he  has  not  had  even  a  kid,  it 
was,  doubtless,  because  he  did  not  desire  it.  It  does  not, 
perhaps,  agree  with  his  sombre,  melancholy  disposition  to 
feast  with  his  friends.  The  religion  of  the  Pharisees,  con- 
sisting wholly  of  fear,  had,  indeed,  as  it  were,  a  taint  of 
misanthropy.  These  sectaries,  who  served  God  as  slaves 
serve  their  master,  would  not  admit  that  one  could  piously 
rejoice  in  the  Lord.  They  might,  however,  like  the  great 
and  beautiful  souls  of  Judaism,  have  tasted  each  day,  under 
Jehovah's  eye,  the  sweet  consolations  of  divine  love.  Grace 
was  at  their  disposal;  if  they  did  not  enjoy  it,  it  was  be- 
cause they  did  not  ask  it.  Why,  then,  complain,  when 
'"The  word  TtKvov  which  he  uses  is  more  affectionate  than  vlis. 
[  422] 


BOOK  III]  THE  MERCY  OF  GOD 

brethren  returning  to  their  father's  house  avail  themselves 
of  it?  The  Pharisees  have  that  to  do  that  is  better  than 
recrimination ;  let  them  sit  down  at  the  family  feast  and 
share  therein.  The  Father  is  wealthy  enough ;  His  liberal- 
ity will  never  compromise  the  rights  of  any.  But,  even 
were  it  otherwise,  should  not  the  joy  of  having  regained  a 
brother — the  aged  man  had  uttered  this  word  intentionally 
to  remind  the  elder  son  that  he  would  have  wished  to  hear 
it  from  his  lips — suppress  all  thought  of  material  interests? 
The  family,  which  had  been  diminished,  is  to-day  re-estab- 
lished in  its  entirety ;  the  father  sees  himself  living  again 
in  his  two  sons ;  the  brother  will  find  beside  him  the  other 
half  of  himself.     Does  all  this,  then,  count  for  nothing? 

Like  this  elder  son,  who  believed  his  younger  brother  for- 
ever lost,  Judaism  had  flattered  itself  that  it  alone  would 
receive  the  entire  fulfilment  of  the  divine  promises.  The 
coming  of  the  Messianic  Kingdom  was  to  be  for  Judaism 
alone.  As  if  the  Gentiles,  for  having  devoured  their  heri- 
tage and  dishonoured  the  name  of  the  Heavenly  Father, 
were  not  also  children  who  could  be  found  again.  Great, 
then,  is  the  surprise  and  violent  the  anger  of  these  egotists, 
as  they  behold  the  pagan  world  suddenly  return  to  the 
paternal  hearth,  in  the  tents  of  Sem,  as  the  prophet  of 
old  ^^  had  said,  and  Jesus  opening  His  arms  to  them  with 
most  indulgent  kindness.  If  these  pious  Pharisees  had 
the  love  of  God,  they  would  have  thrilled  with  joy,  as  they 
embraced  their  lost  brethren,  who  were  returning  in  multi- 
tudes to  Jehovah  to  follow  His  law  and  to  work  for  His 
glory.  But  these  hypocrites  loved  only  themselves ;  and 
in  their  egotism,  they  forgot  heaven's  interests,  while,  in 
their  pride,  they  ignored  the  bonds  of  brotherhood  that 
united  them  to  the  other  peoples  of  the  earth.  This  was 
the  source  of  all  the  evil. 

1  Gen.  ix,  27. 
[  423] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [pakt  second 

Jesus  did  not  finish  the  parable.  It  was  not  necessary 
to  tell  whether  the  elder  son  entered  the  banquet-hall  or  if 
he  was  obstinate  in  his  repugnance.  It  was  left  for  the 
Pharisees  who  listened  to  discover  the  event  for  themselves. 
The  Master  had  just  made  advances  toward  them,  had  just 
given  them  certain  explanations.  The  banquet-hall  was 
open.  It  was  their  duty  to  see  if,  at  the  risk  of  sitting 
side  by  side  with  publicans  and  sinners,  they  should  finally 
decide  to  take  their  place  at  table. 


[424] 


CHAPTER  XIII 

WORKS   OF   CHARITY  AND   THE 
FUTURE   LIFE 

Works  of  Charity  the  Way  to  Heaven — Publicans, 
Pharisees,  Sadducees,  All  Must  Remember  This — 
The  Steward's  Fortunate  Breach  of  Trust — We 
Must  Become  Friends  with  the  Treasures  That  God 
Confides  to  Us — The  Pharisees'  Detestable  Atti- 
tude— Another  Parable:  Lazarus  and  the  Sinful 
Rich  Man — The  Judgments  of  the  Future  Life — 
Since  Moses  and  the  Prophets  Have  Spoken,  the 
Testimony  of  One  Risen  from  the  Dead  Were  Use- 
less.    (St.  Luke  xvi,  1-31.) 

Such,  therefore.  Is  the  ineffable  mercy  of  God  in  favour 
of  the  sinner,  that,  after  having  awaited,  sought,  and  found 
him,  He  has  in  reserve  for  him  a  most  generous  pardon. 
Are  we,  however,  to  beheve  that  man  has  only  to  hold  him- 
self passive  until  grace  shall  come  to  him,  and  that  he  has 
nothing  more  to  do  when  he  has  received  it.''    Assuredly  not. 

Works  of  charity  and  especially  alms  given  to  the  poor 
prepare  our  return  to  God,  or  perpetuate  it  once  it  is 
effected.  Practical  benevolence  is,  so  to  speak,  the  power- 
ful magnet  that  attracts  divine  mercy,  until  it  assumes  the 
character  of  expiatory  reparation.    The  publicans,  for  the 

[425] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

most  part,  have  become  rich  by  their  criminal  profession. 
If  they  wish  to  merit  forgiveness,  and  to  have  their  past 
forgotten,  they  must  begin  by  distributing  in  charity  their 
ill-gotten  goods.  Zacheus,  before  long,  will  show  how  the 
Master's  counsel  is  to  be  understood.  As  easy  as  salvation 
is  to  the  man  who  loves  his  fellows,  just  so  is  it  impossible 
to  him  who  does  not  practise  charity.  The  Pharisees,  with 
all  their  conceit  of  righteousness,  can  never  enter  the  King- 
dom of  God  if  they  are  not  generous  to  the  poor.  Hard- 
ness of  heart,  as  well  as  pride,  fatally  shuts  the  gates  of 
heaven. 

To  make  this  clearer  to  those  who  surround  Him,  Jesus 
at  once  propounds  two  parables,  the  first  of  which  especially 
has  been  considered  difficult  to  interpret ;  ^  and  it  is  so,  in 
reality,  if  we  forget  that  the  Master  did  not  hesitate  to 
employ  at  times  the  prudence  of  the  wicked  as  an  example 
to  the  improvident  children  of  the  Kingdom. 

Besides,  His  audience  was  a  very  mixed  one,  and  it  must 
not  be  forgotten,  in  order  fully  to  understand  all  the  de- 
tails, that  the  Master's  teaching  was  directed  to  all,  Phari- 
sees and  Sadducees,  but  that  first  He  spoke  to  the  publicans 
who  had  become  or  desired  to  become  His  disciples. 

"There  was  a  certain  rich  man,"  said  Jesus,  "who  had  a 
steward ;  and  the  same  was  accused  unto  him,  that  he  had 
wasted  his  goods."  This  rich  man  is  God,  the  great  owner 
of  the  world ;  He  has  His  stewards  in  the  person  of  the  rich 
of  earth  who,  delegated  to  exploit  the  divine  domain  in  the 
interests  of  the  great  majority,  must  labour  for  the  Master 
and  to  make  sure  His  glory.     How  often,  neglecting  their 

*  It  is  well  known  that  this  is  commonly  called  the  crux  of  interpreters. 
For,  some  have  said  that  the  rich  man  represents  the  Roman  authority, 
others  the  demon,  and  many  wealth  personified  in  Mammon.  The  various 
explanations  will  be  found  in  Meyer,  Comment,  in  Luc.  xvi.  1 ;  but  none  of 
them  is  admissible.  Evidently  it  is  God  that  is  represented ;  for  He  alone 
gives  good  fortune  and  withdraws  it,  gives  death  and  life. 

[  426  ] 


BOOK  III]  WORKS  OF  CHARITY 

part  in  life,  do  they  dissipate  in  senseless  prodigality,  in 
the  satisfaction  of  their  passions,  the  wealth  intended 
for  others !  In  this  way,  they  seem  to  baffle  divine  Provi- 
dence, and,  therefore,  the  Angels,  witnesses  of  all  their 
malversations,  cite  them  before  the  court  of  the  Sovereign 
Master. 

"And  he  called  him  and  said  to  him :  How  is  it  that  I 
hear  this  of  thee?  Give  an  account  of  thy  stewardship; 
for  now  thou  canst  be  steward  no  longer."  The  steward 
is  summoned  to  produce  his  records,  not  to  justify  himself, 
for  his  guilt  is  evident,  but  to  bring  matters  to  a  close. 
It  is  a  dismissal  in  good  and  proper  form.  The  master 
desires  to  make  an  inventory  of  his  wasted  property  only 
to  place  it,  such  as  it  may  be,  in  more  faithful  hands.  The 
great  voice  ^  of  God  summoning  His  steward  to  a  revision 
of  his  accounts,  is  that  which  death  sounds  in  our  ears, 
when,  already  marking  us  with  her  fatal  finger,  she  makes 
ready  to  seize  us.  Then  conscience  awakens,  enlightened, 
severe,  pitiless,  and  lets  the  worldling  see  the  foolish  use  he 
has  made  of  goods  which  were  intended  for  the  poor,  and 
of  which  he  had  been  appointed,  not  proprietor,  but  ad- 
ministrator. 

Regrets  soon  follow  this  lightning-stroke,  and  the  im- 
provident man,  in  the  midst  of  his  extravagance,  says  to 
himself:  "What  shall  I  do,  because  my  lord  taketh  away 
from  me  the  stewardship  ?  To  dig  I  am  not  able ;  to  beg 
I  am  ashamed."  Mortification  which  would  expiate  his 
faults,  and  humiliation  which  would  redeem  him,  appear 
equally  unacceptable  to  this  ungenerous  and  still  feeble  soul. 
"I  know  what  I  will  do,"  he  adds,  as  if  suddenly  enlightened, 
"that  when  I  shall  be  removed  from  the  stewardship,  they 
may  receive  me  into  their  houses." 

^  The  text  has  ^wviiaas,  not  KaKtiras,  to  show  that  God  speaks  as  Master. 

[427] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

So  long  as  he  has  not  made  up  his  report,  he  retains  the 
free  disposition  of  the  goods  over  which  he  has  charge.  He 
can,  for  one  last  time,  abuse  his  power,  not  to  appropri- 
ate the  capital — there  is,  perhaps,  none  left  in  the  treasury 
— but  to  make  friends  for  himself  by  fraudulently  remit- 
ting in  part  the  obligations  of  those  whom  he  finds  inscribed 
among  the  debtors.  Therefore,  desirous  of  binding  them 
to  him  by  well-planned  favours,  "calling  together  every 
one  of  his  lord's  debtors,  he  said  to  the  first:  How  much 
dost  thou  owe  my  lord  ?  An  hundred  barrels  of  oil.^  Take 
thy  bill  and  sit  down  quickly  and  write  fifty.  Then  he  said 
to  another:  And  how  much  dost  thou  owe?  An  hundred 
quarters  of  wheat.  He  said  to  him :  Take  thy  bill  and  write 
eighty."  He  must  have  done  the  same  for  all  the  others, 
thus  transferring  them,  according  to  the  amount  of  their 
obligations,  from  the  position  of  his  master's  debtors  to 
that  of  debtors  toward  himself.  Moreover,  he  proceeded 
in  a  clever  way,  not  cancelling  the  debt,  but  counting  it  up 
anew.  "And  the  lord  commended  the  unjust  steward  for 
as  much  as  he  had  done  wisely."  Not  that  he  approved 
the  injustice  of  a  procedure  of  which  he  was  the  victim, 
but  he  could  not  but  praise  its  cleverness.  "For  the  chil- 
dren of  this  world  are  wiser  in  their  generation  than  the 
children  of  light." 

It  is  precisely  this  tact  of  the  children  of  the  world  that 
Jesus  wishes  to  place  side  by  side  with  the  improvidence 

'  The  terms  ^dros  and  uSpos  employed  by  the  Evangelist  are  of  Hebrew 
origin.  The  bath  was  used  in  measuring  liquids.  According  to  Josephus 
{AtUiq.,  viii,  2,  9),  it  held  one  Attic  measure,  38.88  litres.  The  cor,  used 
especially  in  measiu"ing  grain,  held  {Antiq.,  xv,  9,  2)  ten  Attic  viedimni, 
or  ten  times  51.79  litres,  which  is  hardly  probable,  since  a  measure  that 
would  hold  517.90  litres  would  have  been  impracticable;  %vith  reason  there- 
fore the  cof  or  coros  has  been  reduced  to  thirty  times  the  modius  of  2.24 
litres,  that  is,  to  67.20  litres.  So  that  the  faithless  steward  made  a  reduction 
of  19  hectolitres  44  litres  of  oil  to  the  first,  and  13  hectolitres  44  litres,  or, 
following  Josephus'  figures,  103  hectolitres  58  litres,  of  grain  to  the  other. 

[428] 


BOOK  III]  WORKS  OF  CHARITY 

of  the  children  of  hght,  and  He  proves  that  the  cleverness 
of  the  former  is  far  greater  in  the  use  of  the  things  of  time 
than  the  prudence  of  the  latter  concerning  the  affairs  of 
eternity.  The  former  make  use,  sometimes  even  unjustly, 
of  the  goods  of  earth  in  order  to  secure  for  the  day  of  their 
downfall  friends  who  will  help  them  in  return  for  obliga- 
tions contracted ;  the  latter  are  not  wise  enough  even  piously 
to  employ  the  treasures  that  God  gives  them,  in  order  to 
provide  for  themselves  protectors,  advocates,  intercessors, 
on  the  great  day  of  eternity. 

"And  I  say  to  you,"  cried  the  Master,  "make  unto  you 
friends  of  the  Mammon  of  iniquity,^  that  when  you  shall 
fail  they  may  receive  you  into  everlasting  dwellings." 
Since  then,  how  many  sinners,  meditating  on  these  words, 
have  found  in  their  fulfilment  pardon  for  their  crimes  and 
consolation  in  their  last  moments  !  They  took  God's  goods 
— all  that  we  have  is  the  Creator's — and,  distributing  them 
generously  as  if  they  were  the  owners,  they  have  repaid  for 
the  extravagance  of  former  days  in  catering  to  their  evil 
passions.  God  is  pleased  with  this  policy.  He  praises  it 
as  wise  and  prudent.  Its  efficacy  is  certain ;  for  the  inter- 
cession of  the  poor,  who  have  received  charity  under  a  form 
more  or  less  delicate,  has  a  special  influence  and  bears  a 
decisive  weight  in  God's  judgments.  Later  on,  the  Master 
will  return  to  this  subject.    The  publicans  no  doubt  under- 

*'Ek  tov  nafjLwva  ttjs  aSiKlas.  The  word  Mammon  employed  here,  which 
is  more  correctly  spelled  with  a  single  "m,"  as  in  Chaldaic  and  Syriac,  is 
employed  in  Genesis  (xhii,  23)  to  designate  the  money  hidden  in  the  sacks 
of  the  sons  of  Jacob,  and  is  spelled  Mathmon,  signifies  not  the  god  of  money, 
bui  the  money  itself,  and  this  is  called  the  money  of  iniquity,  either 
because  man  in  his  search  after  it  is  ordinarily  guilty  of  avarice  or  because 
he  abuses  it  in  the  gratification  of  his  passions.  Some  suppose  that  the 
Master  qualifies  it  thus  because  the  steward  uses  it  as  if  it  were  his  own, 
while  in  reality  it  belongs  to  God  alone.  This  usurpation  constitutes  an 
injustice,  and  the  money  is  thus  money  of  iniquity.  But  does  not  this  ex- 
planation give  to  Jesus'  words,  so  natural  in  their  simplicity,  a  subtle 
shrewdness  that  is  scarcely  becoming? 

[429] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [paht  second 

stand  it,  and  prepare  to  make  it  their  rule  of  life,  hence- 
forth transformed  under  the  action  of  grace.° 

As  for  the  Pharisees,  lovers  of  money,  their  souls  devoid 
of  charity,  they  sneered  ^  in  ridicule  and  seemed  to  cloak 
themselves  disdainfully  with  a  perfection  which  they  pa- 
raded in  the  eyes  of  all  present. 

"You  are  they,"  said  Jesus  to  them — and  the  severity 
of  His  words  checked  their  derision — "who  justify  your- 
selves before  man,  but  God  knoweth  your  hearts,  for  that 
which  is  high  to  men  is  an  abomination  before  God."  It 
is  easy  for  these  proud  men  to  gain  the  admiration  of  the 
poor  people  at  their  feet,  but  they  cannot  deceive  the  God 
above  their  heads ;  and  at  the  moment  of  death,  neither 
their  pretentious  sanctity,  nor  their  apparent  rigorism, 
nor  their  wealth  without  almsgiving,  will  be  able  to  supply 
the  place  of  true  virtue  and  find  favour  before  God.  In 
eternity,  another  shall  be  judge  of  their  works,  and  differ- 
ent will  His  judgment  be.  Woe  to  him  who  shall  not  have 
thought  to  provide  friends  for  that  critical  moment. 

By  a  second  parable,  which  seemed  to  be  an  allusion 
to  some  contemporary  fact,  Jesus  proceeds  to  make  this 
clearer. 

"There  was  a  certain  rich  man,"  '^  He  says,  "who  was 
clothed  in  purple  and  fine  linen,  and  feasted  sumptuously 

^We  omit  here  the  precept  concerning  fidelity  to  little  things.  This 
passage,  if  we  take  it  as  being  in  its  place  after  the  parable  of  the  steward, 
gives  rise  to  diflBculties  of  explanation,  which  in  our  opinion  are  insurmount- 
able. On  the  other  hand,  it  comes  quite  naturally  after  the  parable  of  the 
servants  who  are  rewarded,  according  to  their  fidelity  in  making  their  talents 
bear  fruit.     {St.  Luke  xix,  11-28,  and  St.  Matt,  xxv.) 

°  The  verb  i^efivKriipi^ov,  which  occurs  again  in  St.  Luke  xxiii,  35,  ex- 
pressing the  sarcastic  attitude  of  Jesus'  enemies  at  the  foot  of  the  cross, 
signifies  to  ridicule  by  turning  up  the  nose. 

'  Jesus  gives  him  no  name,  and  he  merited  none.  The  world  knows  the 
name  of  the  rich,  but  never  that  of  tlie  poor.  The  Saviour,  on  the  contrary, 
knows  only  the  name  of  the  unfortunate.  The  name  of  Lazarus,  besides, 
was  the  only  one  that  He  read  in  the  book  of  life,  the  other  was  not  there. 

[430] 


BooKiiij  WORKS  OF  CHARITY 

every  day.  And  there  was  a  certain  beggar  named  Laza- 
rus,^ who  lay  at  his  gate,  full  of  sores,  desiring  ^  to  be 
filled  with  the  crumbs  that  fell  from  the  rich  man's  table, 
and  no  one  did  give  him ;  moreover  the  dogs  came  and  licked 
his  sores."  The  contrast  is  perfect  between  the  most  com- 
plete comfort  and  the  most  profound  misery.  Of  these  two 
men,  the  one,  a  Pharisee  ^^  or  a  Sadducee,^^  dwelt  in  a 
palace,  and  the  other  in  the  street.  The  former  every  day 
reclines  on  rich  divans,  in  the  midst  of  chosen  society, 
before  a  sumptuous  table ;  the  other  lies  upon  the  pave- 
ment, has  dogs  for  comforters,  and  nothing  to  eat.  The 
first  is  clad  in  precious  stuffs,  the  second  is  covered  with 
unsightly  sores.  This  contrast  is  prolonged  for  many 
years,  perhaps,  nothing  occurring  to  render  it  less  scan- 
dalous. Lazarus,  the  poor  man  of  God,  continues  un- 
wearied and  in  silence  to  long  for  a  few  crumbs,  and  the 
rich  man  pursues  his  series  of  feasts,  never  deigning  to 
have  even  the  spoiled  remains  passed  out  to  him.  Wretched 
man,  he  forgets  that  God  had  intrusted  him  with  wealth 
for  the  nourishment  of  the  poor  and  not  of  his  passions. 
His  foolish  prodigality  will  inevitably  reach  an  end,  and 

*  The  name  Lazarus  is  only  a  corruption  of  the  Hebrew  Eleazar  or,  as 
abbreviated  by  the  Rabbis,  Leazar.  It  signifies  "  God  helps  him."  One 
might  call  it  a  professional  name;  it  fitted  a  beggar  perfectly.  Nearly  all 
the  modern  languages  employ  it  in  designating  those  institutions  established 
for  charitable  purposes  under  any  form. 

'  The  word  iiri6vfiwv  signifies  here  an  imsatisfied  desire.  This  also  shoidd 
give  us  to  imderstand  that  Lazarus  had  not  even  the  crumbs  for  which 
he  longed;  such  is  the  parallel  intended  in  the  parable,  between  Lazarus 
deprived  of  the  crumbs  from  the  table  and  the  rich  man  failing  to  obtain 
the  drop  of  water. 

"  We  see  the  great  personages  of  this  sect  taking  delight  in  exhibiting  their 
luxiuy  and  their  wealth  at  great  feasts.  (St.  Luke  xiv,  12;  xi,  39;  xx, 
40-47.) 

"It  is  the  Pharisees  that  are  brought  into  view  by  verse  14,  but  all  the 
details  of  the  parable  seemed  to  be  addressed  similarly  and  in  certain  special 
points  to  the  Sadducees.  The  hypothesis  that  this  wicked  rich  man  was 
Herod-Axitipas,  or  Caiaphas,  because  of  the  five  brothers  mentioned  is 
entirely  gratuitous,  and  loses  sight  of  the  fact  that  such  personalities  were 
not  to  the  Saviour's  taste. 

[  431  ] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

the  senseless  man  will  not  have  even  thought  of  making  for 
himself,  for  the  day  of  trial,  at  least  one  friend  in  this 
Lazarus  who  begged  from  him. 

At  length  the  hour  of  justice  struck.  The  pauper  and 
the  rich  man  had  come  to  the  close  of  their  careers. 

"And  it  came  to  pass  that  the  beggar  died  "  first.  God 
owed  him  this  favour  since  his  life  was,  humanly  speaking, 
the  more  miserable.  Nothing  is  said  of  his  burial ;  it  may 
be  that  his  body  was  thrown  into  the  sewer.  In  any  case, 
Iiis  death  was  as  unnoticed  as  his  life  had  been. 

"And  the  rich  man  also  died,"  and  his  funeral  was 
magnificent.^"  They  who  had  profited  by  his  wealth, 
friends,  servants,  relatives,  surrounded  him  for  the  last 
time  with  a  useless  pomp.  They  laid  him  in  the  tomb, 
and  the  worms  began  to  devour  him,  as  they  had  devoured 
Lazarus. 

But  the  soul  of  neither  of  them  was  dead;  they  had  just 
entered  into  eternal  life.  A  new  order  of  things  therefore 
commenced  for  them ;  and  if,  in  time,  the  contrast  between 
their  lives  had  been  violent,  it  was  to  be  awful,  but  in  an 
opposite  way,  in  eternity. 

Lazarus,  after  his  death,  "was  carried  by  the  Angels  into 
Abraham's  bosom."  He  passes  therefore  of  a  sudden  from 
the  most  abject  misery  to  the  most  perfect  bliss,  from  the 
company  of  dogs  to  that  of  Angels,  from  the  chill  darkness 
of  a  gateway  to  the  joyous  banquet  of  heaven.  He  takes 
his  seat  by  the  side  of  Abraham,  father  of  believers,  who 
presides  at  the  eternal  feast ;  on  his  bosom  even  he  reclines 
his  head.  He  therefore  holds  the  place  of  honour.  It  was 
not  simply  his  poverty  that  gained  him  this  reward ;  it  was 
his  patient  and  humble  poverty.  He  has  neither  cursed 
Providence  nor  conspired  against  society.     Following  the 

"  This  is  signified  by  the  word  (Td<p7t,  intentionally  placed  at  the  end  of 
the  phrase  to  mark  the  solemnity  of  the  burial. 

[432] 


BOOK  III]  WORKS  OF   CHARITY 

signification  of  his  name,  lie  placed  his  hope  in  God,  and 
devoutly  kissed  the  hand  that  submitted  him  to  the  test. 

The  rich  man,  on  the  other  hand,  passes  from  opulence 
to  absolute  destitution,  from  pleasure  to  truceless  woe,  from 
life  to  death  in  hell.  Need  the  cause  be  told.''  Jesus,  in  the 
parable,  does  not  take  the  trouble  to  explain  it.  He 
thought,  no  doubt,  that  Lazarus,  dying  of  hunger  and 
helpless  at  the  very  door  of  the  rich  man,  was  an  argument 
sufficiently  conclusive  against  him  who  had  had  the  woful 
courage  to  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  his  groans.  It  is  not,  there- 
fore, his  wealth  properly  so  called  that  excludes  him  from 
the  banquet  of  Abraham,  the  first  rich  man  of  God's  peo- 
ple ;  it  is  his  egotistic  sensuality,  it  is  his  hardness  of  heart, 
it  is  the  imprudence  with  which,  after  having  proven  a 
faithless  steward  seeking  the  pleasure  of  his  own  passions, 
he  failed  to  make  friends  against  an  evil  day.  He  falls  into 
hell,  as  into  an  abyss,  although  he  never  expected  it.  The 
sepulchre  of  earth,  however  beautiful,  has  let  its  prey 
pass  on. 

In  Hades  ^^  "lifting  up  his  eyes  when  he  was  in  tor- 
ments," he  seemed  to  call  for  assistance.  His  surprise  is 
so  sad,  that  he  cannot  believe  that  it  will  continue.     The 

'^  The  term  Hades,  employed  here  and  in  only  two  other  passages  in  the 
Gospel  {St.  Matt,  xi,  23;  St.  Luke  x,  15,  where  Capharnamn  is  to  be 
thrust  down  into  the  abyss,  and  St.  Matt,  xvi,  18,  where  it  is  said  that  the 
gates  or  the  powers  of  evil  shall  not  prevail  against  the  Church),  is  the  Greek 
name  corresponding  to  the  Hebrew  Scfieol.  According  to  its  etymology, 
ot'STjs,  from  d  privative  and  lSe7y,  "  to  see,"  it  signifies  the  invisible  realm  into 
which  men  enter  after  death.  In  order  to  make  His  parable,  Jesus  con- 
formed to  tlie  theological  ideas  current  among  His  hearers.  These  ideas 
are  those  which,  developing  gradually  from  the  time  of  the  Captivity,  were 
foiuid  set  down  in  the  latest  deutero-canonical  or  even  extra-canonical 
productions  of  Jewish  literature.  On  this  question  see  the  remarkable 
article  by  M.  Touzard,  Rezme  Biblique,  April,  1898. 

After  the  second  book  of  Machahees  and  that  of  Wisdom,  the  Ajxicalypse 
of  Henoch  and  tlie  Secrets  of  Henoch,  no  less  than  the  Psalter  of  Solomon, 
are,  with  greater  fidelity  than  the  texts  of  the  Talmud  compiled  after  the 
Gospel,  witnesses  of  the  tradition  current  at  the  time  of  Jesus  Christ.  What 
is  read  in  these  books  is  certainly  what  was  taught  in  the  synagogues.    In 

[  ^33  ] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

fire  that  encompasses  him,  the  pains  that  seize  upon  him, 
the  sudden  fever  that  burns  him,  all  this  cannot  really  be 
for  him,  who  until  then  was  so  luxuriously  lodged,  so  deli- 
cately fed,  so  finely  clad.  In  any  case,  it  is  intolerable. 
Oh,  for  a  kind  hand,  come  whence  it  may,  a  friend,  a 
saviour !  And,  as  he  looked,  above  his  head  "he  saw  Abra- 
ham afar  off,  and  Lazarus  in  his  bosom."  To  him  that 
must  have  been  a  strange  sight.  They  were  seated  at  a 
banquet,  and  he  lay  in  torments.  It  was  exactly  the  con- 
trary to  what  he  had  until  then  seen  on  earth.  Lazarus 
was  no  longer  outside  dying  of  hunger,  but  within  at  table ; 
the  rich  man  was  no  longer  within  doors  provided  with 
everything,  but  without,  burning,  devoured  with  thirst. 
Across  the  intervening  space  he  chances  a  despairing  ap- 
peal. "Father  Abraham,"  he  cried  with  all  his  strength, 
for  he  was  at  a  great  distance  from  him  to  whom  he  spoke, 
"have  mercy  on  me !"  He  recommends  himself  in  his  char- 
acter as  a  son  of  Abraham,  as  the  Pharisees  do;  but  has 
he,  by  his  life,  done  honour  to  the  sonship  of  which  he 
now  avails  himself  .f' 

Was  Abraham  a  man  without  charity  for  the  wretched, 
wholly  devoted  to  himself  and  his  pleasures?  Can  he  recog- 
nise as  children  those  who  have  had  none  of  his  broad  and 
generous  religion?  In  truth,  the  unfortunate  man  only 
half  dares  expect  it,  and  the  modest  prayer  he  utters  proves 
that  he  fears  to  abuse  a  benevolence  to  which  he  has  but 
little  right. 

"Send  Lazarus,"  he  pleaded,  "that  he  may  dip  the  tip 
of  his  finger  in  water  to  cool  my  tongue,  for  I  am  tormented 
in  this  flame."  So  then  he  would  now  accept  as  benefactor 
him  whom  on  earth  he  would  not  have  as  debtor.    The  harsh 

reality  one  single  point  in  the  whole  parable  ought  to  be  retained  as  the  true 
Gospel  teaching,  namely,  that  the  justice  of  God  awaits  men  after  death. 
The  details  of  the  scene  are  adapted  to  the  hearers,  and  do  not  create  any 
serious  objection  against  Christian  dogma. 

[434] 


BOOK  III]  WORKS  OF  CHARITY 

experience  of  a  woe  that  is  only  beginning  makes  him  see 
too  late  that  men  ought  to  help  each  other  mutually  in  the 
varying  conditions  of  life.  With  a  certain  amount  of  shame- 
lessness  he  means  to  benefit  by  this  at  once.  No  doubt  the 
memory  of  the  crumbs  of  bread  that  Lazarus  begged  but 
did  not  receive,  moves  him  to  ask  only  the  drop  of  water 
put  upon  his  tongue  by  the  finger  of  him  whom  he  let  die 
of  hunger. 

"Son,"  responds  Abraham,  not  denying  the  first  title 
which  the  condemned  man  had  to  an  eternity  less  woful, 
and  making  him  perceive  it,  "son,  remember  that  thou  didst 
receive  good  things  in  thy  lifetime,  and  likewise  Lazarus 
evil  things ;  but  now  he  is  comforted  and  thou  art  tor- 
mented." Above  every  other  consideration  comes  that  of 
justice.  The  rich  man  made  the  chief  or  even  the  sole 
object  of  his  life  consist  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  goods  of 
earth.  He  has  received  them,  or  rather  he  has  avariciously 
appropriated  them,^*  and  has  used  them  with  criminal  sen- 
suality, seeing  nothing  above  or  below  him.  Since  they 
were  his  goods,  as  the  Father  of  Believers  says,  he  there- 
fore renounced  all  others  whatsoever.  Why,  then,  be  sur- 
prised if,  having  lost  them,  together  with  life,  he  possesses 
not  those  others  for  which  he  had  never  sought  and  whose 
reality  he  did  not  even  admit.?  Lazarus  has  had  only  mis- 
fortunes,^^ but  while  enduring  them  he  did  not  look  upon 
them  as  the  final  term  of  his  existence.  Hence,  having 
hoped  for  something  more  after  them,  he  has  found  it,  and 
must  enjoy  it  for  all  eternity.  Each  of  them  has  made  his 
life  beyond  the  grave  what  he  willed  to  make  it.  The  one, 
hoping  in  nothing,  shall  experience  the  most  awful  destitu- 

**  This  is  signified  by  the  expression  aire\a$es,  which  Abraham  uses. 

*^This  time  Abraham  does  not  say  his  evil  things  as  he  said  thy  good 
things  (the  Greek  text  has  rk  ayadi  <rov),  because  Lazarus  did  not  regard 
misfortune  as  his  final  destiny.  He  passed  through  the  trials  as  the  ship 
ploughs  the  waves,  in  order  to  reach  tne  port. 

[  435  ] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

tion ;  the  other,  hoping  for  all,  shall  have  the  most  complete 
felicity.  Death  has  sealed  the  desires  of  both  and  fixed 
them  forever. 

In  vain  will  the  rich  man  look  for  an  amelioration  of  his 
intolerable  sufferings ;  it  shall  not  be  granted  him.  God's 
justice  is  inexorable.  Even  if  Abraham  and  Lazarus, 
moved  to  compassion,  should  wish  to  aid  him,  they  could 
not. 

"Between  us  and  you,"  adds  the  great  patriarch,  "there 
is  fixed  a  great  chaos ;  so  that  they  who  would  pass  from 
thence  to  you,  cannot,  nor  from  thence  come  hither."  A 
pitiless  decree  forever  separates  the  good  from  the  wicked. 
How  awe-inspiring  this  view  of  the  mysteries  of  the  future 
life!  It  is  Jesus  Who  speaks  and  it  is  His  own  thought 
that  He  tells  us.  Exaggeration  can  have  no  place  on  His 
lips,  for  exaggeration  is  not  the  truth.  What  matters  it 
if  He  employs  imagery  to  reveal  to  us  the  awful  secrets 
of  an  unknown  world  .'^  These  figures  certainly  represent 
a  reality,  and  this  is  a  subject  worthy  of  our  meditation. 
To  look  for  clearer  and  more  authentic  testimony  than  His 
is  to  look  for  the  impossible.  Jesus  hints  as  much  to  His 
hearers,  as  He  continues  the  parable,  which  seemed  to  be 
ended. 

In  the  Master's  teaching  the  practical  follows  closely  on 
the  speculative.  He  never  neglects  to  make  a  direct  and 
personal  application  of  the  most  general  theories. 

"Then,  father,  I  beseech  thee,"  says  the  condemned  soul, 
"that  thou  wouldst  send  him  to  my  father's  house  for  I 
have  five  brethren.  That  he  may  testify  unto  them,  lest 
they  also  come  into  this  place  of  torments."  This  good 
impulse  of  charity  might  seem  strange  in  a  reprobate ;  but 
we  must  not  forget  that  we  are  in  the  domain  of  fiction, 
and  that  Jesus  can  freely  have  recourse  to  any  details 
suited  to  transmit  His  thought  to  His  hearers.    Moreover, 

[436] 


BOOK  III]  WORKS  OF  CHARITY 

this  desire  of  the  damned  soul,  if  seriously  analysed,  is  in 
reality  inspired  by  undeniable  egotism.  For,  if  by  his  scan- 
dalous scepticism  this  wicked  man  perverted  his  brothers, 
he  holds,  even  in  the  other  life,  the  responsibility  for  their 
future  disorders  and  their  final  impenitence ;  so  that  all 
his  woes  will  be  intensified  in  turn  by  all  the  evil  that  they 
do  on  earth.  It  is  this  increase  of  moral  and  physical  tor- 
ments that  he  wishes  to  avoid,  hence  he  formulates  his  re- 
quest. "They  have  Moses  and  the  Prophets,"  responds 
Abraham,  "let  them  hear  them."  Lazarus,  the  quondam 
beggar,  despised  by  all,  could  not  be  to  them  a  weightier 
authority  than  the  great  law-giver  of  the  Jews,  and  the 
other  servants  of  God.  "No,  father  Abraham,"  again 
cries  out  the  unfortunate  man,  "but  if  one  went  to  them 
from  the  dead,  they  will  do  penance."  One  does  penance, 
not  for  having  had  wealth,  but  for  having  badly  used  it. 
This  last  word  suggests,  in  fact,  that  the  crime  of  the 
damned  was,  not  that  he  had  been  a  rich  man,  but  that  he 
had  been  wicked  as  such.^^ 

"If  they  hear  not  Moses  and  the  prophets,"  Abraham 
again  makes  answer,  and  thus  he  ends  the  dialogue,  "neither 
will  they  believe  if  one  rise  from  the  dead."  The  words  of 
the  latter  would  be  upheld  by  one  miracle,  whereas  those  of 
Moses  and  the  prophets  are  sustained  by  miracles  without 
number.  This,  therefore,  in  the  supernatural  order,  is  ask- 
ing less  than  what  they  already  have.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
it  cannot  be  admitted  that  there  are  none  to  preach  to  these 
five  brothers  and  all  other  sceptics  w^ho  follow  their  example. 
It  is  the  will  to  be  converted  that  is  wanting.  They  know 
where  their  duty  lies,  but  they  w411  not  fulfil  it. 

The  apparition  of  a  dead  man  would  not  make  them  any 
stronger  against  passions  which  they  do  not  desire  to  resist. 
The  condemnation  of  selfishness,  of  sensuality,  of  indiffer- 
^^  Devi.  XV,  7,  8,  and  elsewhere;  Isa.  Iviii,  7,  and  other  passages. 

[437  ] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

ence  to  the  needs  of  the  poor  is  found  in  the  Holy  Books 
under  every  form.  God  threatens  the  powerful  of  the  earth 
that  He  will  rise  up  Himself  to  defend  the  rights  of  the 
needy  who  are  abandoned,^  ^  and  He  counsels  each  one  to  re- 
deem his  sin  by  almsgiving.^  ^  The  wicked  alone  have  not 
heard  Him ;  they  have  closed  their  ears  to  the  voice  of  con- 
science only  to  open  them  to  every  call  of  passion. 
Good  deeds  have  ever  paved  the  way  to  heaven. 

"  Ps.  xi,  6.  "  Dan.  iv,  24. 


[438] 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE   HUMILITY   THAT   MARKS   THE 
TRUE   SERVANTS   OF   GOD 

Pride,  Even  Before  God,  the  Radical  Vice  of  Phari- 
saism— The  Apostles  Furnish  Jesus  an  Excellent 
Opportunity  to  Condemn  It — "Increase  Our  Faith" 
— In  Strict  Justice,  God  Is  Never  Man's  Debtor — 
This  Theory  Is  the  True  Basis  of  Humility — The 
Parable  of  the  Pharisee  and  the  Publican.  (St. 
Luke  xvii,  5-10 ;  xviii,  9-14.) 

The  great  evil  of  the  Pharisees  lay  not  wholly  in  the 
haughty  severity  which  they  displayed  toward  sinners,  nor 
in  the  avarice  which  deafened  their  ears  to  the  groans  of 
the  poor ;  there  was  something  still  more  detestable  than 
this ;  it  was  the  pride  that  puffed  them  up  when  they 
thought  they  had  scrupulously  fulfilled  the  law.  In  the 
end  they  came  to  believe  that  God  was  their  debtor,  and  in 
their  pride  they  stood  before  Him  to  demand,  as  an  ac- 
quired right,  their  reward  or  rather  their  hire.  Nothing 
certainly  could  be  less  reasonable  or  more  odious  than  this 
foolish  pretension.  It  put  to  flight  every  true  sentiment 
of  religion,  and  nothing  more  was  needed  to  poison  the 
best  intentions  and  to  compromise  the  truest  virtues. 

With  implacable  persistency,  Jesus  made  war  on  this 
sad  illusion.     Thus,  one  day,  as  they  were  returning  per- 

[439] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [paet  second 

haps  from  some  successful  mission,  the  Apostles,  yielding 
to  that  natural  sentiment  of  the  human  heart  which,  after 
a  good  work,  so  easily  forgets  the  help  of  grace,  and  be- 
holds only  its  own  merit,  sought  Him  and  said  to  Him: 
"Increase  our  faith."  This  meant,  on  their  lips:  "Make 
us  more  powerful  wonder-workers."  Did  they  mean  to 
claim  this  as  the  price  of  their  labours?  Possibly.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  their  desire  had  a  certain  merit,  since  it 
amounted  to  a  wush  for  an  increase  of  power  for  the  gen- 
eral good.  But  the  Master's  eye  discovered  a  trace  of 
that  Pharisaical  tendency  which  He  so  thoroughly  de- 
tested. As  the  tone  of  their  request  revealed  a  rather 
pronounced  sentiment  of  personal  satisfaction,  He  began 
by  humiliating  them :  "If  you  had  faith  like  to  a  grain  of 
mustard-seed,"  He  said  to  them,  "you  might  say  to  this 
mulberry-tree,^  Be  thou  rooted  up,  and  be  thou  trans- 
planted into  the  sea,  and  it  would  obey  you."  They  are 
as  yet  but  very  grudging  believers,  since  even  the  smallest 
of  grains  is  out  of  proportion  as  a  symbol  of  their  faith. 
Wrongly,  then,  do  they  with  such  pretensions  beg  the 
Master  to  increase  that  which  does  not  exist  even  as  a 
germ  in  their  hearts.  Besides,  they  should  not  be  igno- 
rant of  this,  that,  however  small  their  faith  might  be,  if 
only  it  were  real,  it  would  be  capable  of  accomplishing 
works  which  they  had  in  view.  For,  by  faith,  the  religious 
man  is  so  associated  with  the  life  of  God  that  he  seems 
to  share  in  His  omnipotence.  Strong  in  the  authority  of 
his  Father  over  all  creatures,  the  man  of  faith  can  com- 
mand the  elements  and  the  spirits  of  evil,  when  the  glory 

*  The  tree  called  cvKtifiivos,  or  the  fig-tree  of  Egypt,  is  a  grafting  of  the 
fig-tree  and  the  mulberry-tree,  as  its  Greek  name  indicates.  It  has  the 
leaves  and  proportions  of  the  mulberry-tree  and  the  fruit  of  the  fig-tree. 
(Dioscorides,  i,  182;  Diodorus,  i,  34.;  Pliny,  H.  N .,  xiii,  14.)  Under  the 
name  siqemirn,  the  pliu-al  of  siqoumot,  it  is  mentioned  in  111  Kings  x,  27; 
Isa.  ix,  lo,  and  Amos  vii,  14. 

[  UO] 


BOOK  in]  TRUE  SERVANTS  OF  GOD 

of  the  Father  requires  it.  The  mulberry-tree,  which  Jesus 
points  out  with  His  finger,  is  probably  a  figure  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God,  primitively  established  in  the  privileged 
land  of  Israel.  The  weakest  faith  in  the  Apostles'  soul 
were  sufficient  to  uproot  it  with  a  word,  with  a  sign,  and 
to  plant  it  in  the  midst  of  the  swollen  sea  of  the  Gentiles. 

They  are,  then,  mistaken  first  of  all  in  desiring  the 
development  of  a  faith  which  they  have  not  even  in  a 
rudimentary  state ;  but  they  are  culpable  in  claiming  it  as 
a  reward  that  is  due  them. 

"But  which  of  you  having  a  servant,"  says  Jesus, 
"ploughing  or  feeding  cattle,  will  say  to  him,  when  he  is 
come  from  the  field :  Go  immediately  sit  down  to  meat ;  and 
,will  not  rather  say  to  him :  Make  ready  my  supper,  and 
gird  thyself,  and  serve  me  whilst  I  eat  and  drink,  and 
afterward  thou  shalt  eat  and  drink.''  Doth  he  thank  that 
servant  for  doing  the  things  which  he  commanded  him.'' 
I  think  not.  So  you  also,  when  ye  shall  have  done  all  these 
things  that  are  commanded  you,  say:  We  are  unprofitable 
servants."  What  a  difference  in  the  appreciation  of  the 
works  of  man,  according  as  one  regards  them  from  the 
viewpoint  of  right,  or  from  that  of  mercy,  as  one  exam- 
ines them  with  the  eye  of  God's  justice  or  with  that  of 
His  love !  Justice  says  to  the  labourer,  as  he  returns  from 
his  work :  I  owe  thee  nothing,  what  you  have  done  has  been 
paid  for  in  advance;  and  justice  is  right.  Love  says  to 
the  faithful  servant:  Sit  down  at  table,  and  I  will  serve 
thee;  and  love,  too,  is  right.  We  must  never  confound 
the  sacred  rights  of  the  one  and  the  astounding  condescen- 
sion of  the  other.  God  may  love  us  with  most  extraor- 
dinary tenderness,  and  yet  He  can  never  be  our  debtor 
from  the  fact  that  we  have  done  our  duty.  We  are  His 
work.  His  property,  we  owe  Him  all,  and  He  Himself  owes 
us  not  even  another  moment  of  life.     He  is,  indeed,  then, 

[  441  ] 


LIFE   OF  CHRIST  [pabt  second 

foolish  who  pretends  to  set  up  his  works  as  valuable  in 
the  eyes  of  this  Sovereign  INIaster.  It  behooves  us  to  leave 
it  to  His  fatherly  heart  to  discern  our  efforts  to  please 
Him  and  the  sincerity  of  our  desire  to  honour  Him.  Let 
us  beware  of  appealing  to  His  justice.  The  decision  which 
we  should  provoke  would  not  be  to  our  advantage. 

In  this  doctrine,  the  depth  of  which  is  admirable,  Jesus 
established  the  real  basis  of  humility.  It  is  only  when 
man  has  a  thorough  sense  of  his  own  nothingness  before 
God,  that  he  begins  to  be  really  something.  The  Father's 
mercy  exalts  us  only  when  we  have  abased  ourselves  before 
the  supreme  authority  of  the  Master. 

A  parable,  found  only  in  St.  Luke  and  placed  by  him  at 
a  later  date,  but  which  has  no  connection  with  what  pre- 
cedes or  follows  it,^  finds  its  natural  place  here.  It  dem- 
onstrates the  Master's  thought  concerning  those  who,  con- 
fident of  their  own  merit,  esteem  themselves  just  and 
despise  others. 

"Two  men,"  said  Jesus,  "went  up  into  the  Temple  to 
pray;  the  one  a  Pharisee  and  the  other  a  publican."  At 
the  very  outset  the  comparison  is  striking.  Here  the  two 
extremes  of  Jewish  society  are  together  before  God,  the 
one  with  his  exemplary  justice,  his  scrupulous  regularity, 
his  legal  sanctity ;  the  other  with  his  sins,  his  despised  life, 
his  public  unworthiness.  They  come  to  pray.  If  either 
of  the  two  is  to  excel  in  doing  so  with  that  profound  senti- 
ment of  personal  unworthiness  which  renders  prayer  elo- 
quent, it  will,  no  doubt,  be  the  first.  He  is  familiar  with 
the  science  of  prayer,  since  he  passes  his  life  in  the  study 
and  fulfilment  of  the  law.  The  second  has  lived,  up  to 
this  moment,  in  disorder,  in  injustice,  in  impiety ;  he  knows 
not  how  to  speak  to  God,  accustomed  as  he  is  to  converse 
only  with  sinners.  And  yet  it  is  precisely  the  opposite 
'  St.  Luke  xviii,  9. 
[442] 


BooKin]  TRUE  SERVANTS  OF  GOD 

that  is  going  to  take  place.  The  reason  is  that  prayer 
finds  its  inspiration  not  in  the  head,  but  in  the  heart ;  not 
in  proud  self-sufficiency,  but  in  salutary  humility;  not  in 
the  cold  austerity  of  a  passionless  life,  but  in  generous  out- 
bursts of  repentance  and  of  love. 

Here,  then,  are  both  in  the  Temple.  The  more  impor- 
tant personage  speaks  first.  He  has  begun  by  separat- 
ing from  the  multitude,  and,  having  drawn  near  to  the 
Sanctuary,  he  stands  there  drawn  up  at  full  height.^  One 
would  say  that  he  came  there  proudly  to  display  himself 
before  God  and  man.  Since  he  is,  at  last,  in  sight,  he  can 
commence  his  prayer.  "He  prayed  thus  with  himself:  O 
God,  I  give  Thee  thanks  that  I  am  not  as  the  rest  of  men, 
extortioners,  unjust,  adulterers,  as  also  is  this  publican." 
In  his  insolent  pride,  instead  of  praying,  he  gives  thanks. 
He  needs  nothing.  None  other  is  as  just  as  he.  He  is 
an  exception  in  the  world,  and  this  prodigy  of  the  human 
species  is  fully  conscious  of  his  incomparable  sanctity. 
All  other  men  are  only  unfortunate  wretches ;  he  has  seen 
the  irregularities  of  their  public  lives,  he  knows  even  their 
secret  sins  and  the  sentiments  of  their  hearts.  In  his  own 
life,  in  his  own  heart,  he  has  seen  nothing,  alas,  and  that 
is  his  great  misfortune.  He  judges  the  rest  of  mankind 
in  order  to  absolve  himself.  His  proud  presumption  even 
points  out  with  the  finger  the  victims  whom  he  condemns ; 
and  his  gaze  directed,  not  with  humility  and  love  toward 
the  altar,  but  with  pride  and  scorn  at  the  poor  publican 
who  is  praying  near  the  door  of  the  Temple,  turns  back 
again  to  himself  with  senseless  satisfaction. 

'  The  Jews  prayed  sometimes  standing  (7/7  Kings  viii,  22 ;  77  Parol,  vi, 
12;  St.  Matt,  vi,  5;  St.  Mark  xi,  25),  sometimes  on  their  knees  (Dan. 
vi,  10;  7  Paral.  vi,  13;  Acts  ix,  40;  xx,  36;  xxi,  5),  according  to  the  senti- 
ment that  animated  them.  Christians  have  preserved  this  custom.  Cath- 
ohcs,  however,  remain  most  of  the  time  on  their  knees,  following  the  per- 
petual tradition  of  the  Church  and  the  most  common  practice  of  the  first 
Christians. 

[443] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [paht  second 

To  attain  the  very  height  of  impudence  he  needs  only 
to  prove  that  God  is  his  debtor,  and  that  personally  he 
has  nothing  for  which  to  be  thankful,  but  that  rather  he 
should  be  thanked.  He  is  about  to  do  so.  "I  fast  twice 
in  the  week,"  he  says ;  "I  give  tithes  of  all  that  I  possess." 
A  good  Jew  was  not  obliged  to  do  all  this.  Moses  had 
prescribed  only  one  day  of  fast  in  the  year,  namely,  that 
of  the  great  Expiation."*  Some  pious  personages  had  in- 
troduced others,  but  the  Pharisee  went  farther  than  all, 
and  observed  two  each  week.  The  Israelite  was  obliged, 
according  to  the  law,^  to  give  only  a  tenth  of  the  gross  re- 
ceipts of  his  property.  Grains,  fruits,  small  vegetables 
were  not  mentioned.  The  Pharisee,  however,  makes  no  ex- 
ception, and,  with  unparalleled  scrupulousness,  gives,  as 
every  one  can  see,  the  tithe  of  all  that  he  receives.  Thus 
his  vanity  rests  complacently  upon  the  spectacle  of  his 
heroic  perfection.  He  has  told  what  he  is,  what  he  does, 
what  he  gives.  His  prayer  is  ended.  His  thanksgiving  is 
completed.  God  has  been  named  in  it,  but  has  no  part 
therein,  for  it  is  his  own  personal  praise  that  this  proud 
man  has  just  sounded.  He  will  retire  having  gained  what 
he  asked,  that  is,  nothing  more  than  what  he  has. 

"And  the  publican,  standing  afar  off,  would  not  so  much 
as  lift  up  his  eyes  to  heaven,  but  struck  his  breast"  in 
prayer.  What  a  contrast !  The  one  has  approached 
God  with  presumptuous  famiharity,  the  other  withdraws 
from  Him  in  pious  trembling;  the  former  has  separated 
himself  from  the  common  crowd  in  order  to  exhibit  his 
justice,  the  latter  knows  not  how  to  hide  himself  that  he 
may  conceal  his  misery.  The  Pharisee  lifts  up  his  head, 
his  voice,  his  hands  perhaps,  like  a  statue  in  ecstasy  for 
the  admiration  of  all ;  the  publican  dares  not  even  to  raise 

*  Levit.  xvi,  26;  Numb,  xxix,  7. 

^  Numb,  xviii,  21 ;  Deut.  xiv,  22 ;  Levit.  xxvii,  30. 

[444  ] 


BOOK  III]  TRUE  SERVANTS  OF   GOD 

his  eyes,  so  penetrated  is  he  with  his  own  unworthiness  and 
with  the  majesty  of  the  God  before  Whom  he  stands. 
When  he  pronounces  His  awful  name,  it  is  with  mingled 
respect  and  fear.  He  desires  that  this  cry  shall  mount  up 
from  his  heart  and  not  from  his  lips.  But  his  heart  seems 
to  him  to  be  full  of  corruption,  and,  strengthening  him- 
self in  holy  anger,  he  strikes  it  with  his  hand  as  if  to 
bruise  and  chastise  it  for  its  weaknesses.  "O  God,"  he 
said,  "be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner."  There  are  but  three 
words  in  this  prayer,  but  such  words !  God,  the  sinner, 
and  the  mercy  that  unites  these  two  extremes.  All  else  is 
useless.  The  man  who  "speaks  thus  has  found  the  key  of 
salvation.  Humility  has  inspired  him  with  the  true  prayer 
that  calls  for  mercy,  and  this  prayer  has  moved  God's 
heart. 

"I  say  to  you,"  the  Master  concludes  with  solemn 
authority  that  sounds  like  the  echo  of  heaven's  judgment 
upon  these  two  men,  "this  man  went  down  into  his  house 
justified  rather  than  the  other:  because  every  one  that  ex- 
alteth  himself  shall  be  humbled ;  and  he  that  humbleth  him- 
self shall  be  exalted."  Thus  humility  supplants  vice  with 
virtue,  whereas  pride  turns  virtue  itself  into  vice.  God 
is  greatness  itself.  When  man  exalts  himself,  God  avoids 
him;  when  he  humbles  himself,  God  rejoins  liim.  O  mys- 
tery of  eternal  wisdom,  whose  ultimate  reason  is,  doubt- 
less, that  God  wishes  alone  to  be  all  in  all! 


[445] 


CHAPTER    XV 

JESUS   GOES   TO   BETHANY  TO  RAISE 
LAZARUS   TO   LIFE  AGAIN 

The  Message  from  Bethany — The  Master's  Response 
— Two  Days'  Delay — The  Disciples'  Hesitation  to 
Go  to  Judea — The  Arrival  at  Bethany  and  the 
Dialogue  with  Martha — Mary  Joins  Her  Sister — 
Jesus'  Emotion  —  "Where  Have  You  Laid  Him  ?" 
— Jesus  Weeps  Before  the  Tomb — The  Motives 
OF  His  Prayer  to  the  Father — "Lazarus,  Come 
Forth!" — The  Effect  of  the  Miracle  on  Those 
Present.      (St.  John  xi,  1-46.)^ 

While  the  ministry  of  Jesus  continued  thus  in  Peraea, 
a  messenger  came  with  bad  news  from  Bethany.  Lazarus 
had  fallen  sick  there,  and  seriously  enough  to  move  his 
sisters  to  have  recourse  to  the  omnipotence  of  their  friend 

*  This  event,  which  is  one  of  the  most  important  in  the  Gospel  history, 
since  it  provokes  the  Sanhedrim  to  extreme  measures  against  Jesus,  has 
been  passed  over  by  the  Synoptics  in  complete  silence.  They  tell  of  the 
repast  at  Bethany  without  the  slightest  allusion  to  this  event  which  was 
directly  connected  with  it.  The  triumphal  entrance  into  Jerusalem  was 
itself  partly  a  consequence  of  the  resurrection  of  Lazarus.  How  then  shall 
we  explain  that  they  who  relate  the  one  incident,  say  nothing  of  the  other? 
Such  silence  is  as  surprising  as  that  of  St.  John  concerning  the  institution 
of  the  Eucharist.  No  hypothesis,  yet  suggested,  gives  the  solution  of  the 
enigma,  which  very  likely  lies  wholly  in  the  fragmentary  character  of  the 
Synoptics.  It  is  through  a  concurrence  of  fortuitous  and  unknown  cir- 
cumstances that  the  resurrection  of  Lazarus  had  no  place  in  the  Synoptic 
list.  St.  Matthew,  however,  while  relating  only  one  resurrection,  says  that 
Jesus  raised  the  dead  to  life  again  (xi,  5). 

[  446] 


BOOK  III]         JESUS   GOES  TO  BETHANY 

Jesus.  They  knew  He  was  on  the  other  side  of  the  Jor- 
dan, and  seemed  even  to  keep  themselves  informed  of  His 
apostoHc  journey ings.  Since  there  might  be  at  that  mo- 
ment a  real  danger  in  summoning  the  Master  back  to  the 
neighbourhood  of  Jerusalem — for  the  irritation  of  the 
Jews  was  at  its  height — Martha  and  Mary  had  endeav- 
oured to  word  their  message  with  the  most  prudent  care, 
while  with  the  greatest  delicacy  putting  in  the  affectionate 
word  which  was  to  draw  forth  the  response.  A  woman's 
heart  generally  excels  in  letting  its  wish  be  divined  with- 
out positively  asking  it.  "Lord,  behold,"  the  messenger 
had  said,  "he  whom  Thou  lovest  is  sick." 

The  reason  that  may  move  Jesus  to  come  is  set  forth 
at  once :  Lazarus  is  His  friend,  and  he  is  in  danger.  How- 
ever, as  the  sisters  do  not  desire  to  expose  the  Master's 
life  even  to  save  their  brother,  the  messenger  will  simply 
announce  the  fact,  without  adding  any  more  explicit  re- 
quest. Jesus  shall  see  the  motives  which  He  has  for  com- 
ing or  for  not  coming.  They  leave  it  to  His  wisdom  and 
to  His  good  friendship. 

On  learning  this  news.  Our  Lord  merely  said,  before 
everybody:  "This  sickness  is  not  unto  death,  but  for  the 
glory  of  God ;  that  the  Son  of  God  may  be  glorified  by  it." 
The  messenger  of  the  two  sisters  returned  with  this  reply. 
It  must  have  seemed  all  the  more  disconcerting,  since  it 
reached  Bethany  when  Lazarus  was  already  dead,  which 
appeared  singularly  to  compromise  the  Messiah's  omnis- 
cience. However,  on  closer  consideration,  Jesus'  words 
are  seen  to  contain  an  allusion  to  a  miracle  foreseen  in  His 
behalf  and  even  promised.  Perhaps  Our  Lord  here  em- 
ployed an  equivocal  phrase  simply  to  subject  to  a  profit- 
able test  souls  who  were  dear  to  Him,  and  who.  He  knew, 
were  strong  in  the  faith.  In  reality,  the  true  sense  of  His 
words  was  not  that  Lazarus  would  escape  death,  but  that 

[447] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

his  death  would  not  be  definitive.  How,  indeed,  would 
God's  glory  have  been  augmented,  if  Lazarus'  health  had 
had  to  be  restored  by  natural  means  and  without  the  more 
direct  intervention  of  Jesus?  The  solemnity  with  which 
He  speaks  of  His  glory  prevents  us  from  believing  that 
He  meant  one  of  those  cures  which  He  was  achieving  every 
day  by  virtue  of  His  miraculous  power.  He  referred  to 
something  more  prodigious. 

But,  the  Evangelist  tells  us  with  great  simplicity,  Jesus 
loved  Martha  and  her  sister  and  Lazarus.  Yet  He  did 
not  start  at  once.  Careless  as  to  whether  He  should  seem 
either  indifferent  or  powerless.  He  delayed  two  days  longer. 
Many  have  thought  that  some  important  work,  already 
begun,  and  which  it  would  be  unwise  to  leave  incomplete, 
had  necessitated  this  delay.  But  we  must  seek  its  motives 
in  a  loftier  inspiration.  According  to  the  divine  plan, 
Lazarus  was  to  afford  the  Son  of  Man  an  exceptional  op- 
portunity for  the  manifestation  of  His  power.  The  mere 
healing  of  a  sick  man,  or  the  reviving  of  a  body  still  warm 
would  be  nothing  more  than  the  repetition  of  one  of  the 
prodigies  so  often  achieved  without  any  decisive  effect  on 
those  who  witnessed  them.  There  is  need  of  something 
absolutely  unheard  of  and  peremptory.  Let  them  mourn 
for  four  days  at  Bethany,  God  shall  be  thereby  only  the 
more  glorified. 

At  the  end  of  forty-eight  hours,  therefore,  Jesus  said 
to  His  disciples :  "Let  us  go  into  Judea  again."  The  word 
Judea,  uttered  intentionally,  made  them  shudder.  Had 
He  said  simply  Bethany,  it  would  have  frightened  them 
less.  "Rabbi,"  they  said  Immediately,  "the  Jews  but  now 
sought  to  stone  Thee,  and  goest  Thou  thither  again?" 
Jesus  answered:  "Are  there  not  twelve  hours  in  the  day? 
If  a  man  walk  in  the  day,  he  stumbleth  not,  because  he 
seeth  the  hght  of  this  world ;  but  if  he  walk  in  the  night, 

[448] 


BOOK  III]         JESUS   GOES  TO   BETHANY 

he  stumbleth,  because  the  Hght  is  not  in  him."  Taken  in 
their  natural  sense,  these  words  might  mean  that  there  was 
no  danger  in  making  this  journey.  After  a  twelve  hours' 
journey  they  would  arrive  in  Bethany.  They  had  no 
reason  to  fear  that  the  enemy  would  attack  their  small 
party  during  the  day.  By  nightfall  they  would  be  shel- 
tered in  a  strong  place,  where  friends  would  protect  them 
against  any  attack.  It  was  in  this  sense,  no  doubt,  that 
the  Apostles  understood  the  Master's  thought.  But  Jesus 
wished  them  to  understand  something  quite  different. 
From  the  beginning,  the  time  of  His  mission  on  earth  ap- 
peared to  Him  as  a  day  of  labour  which  His  Father,  like 
a  beneficent  sun,  should  light  with  His  protecting  rays 
until  the  enemy's  hour  should  come  and  with  it  the  invasion 
of  darkness.  It  was  in  this  sense  that  He  said :  "I  labour 
while  the  day  endureth."  And  He  knows  that  the  day  is 
not  yet  near  its  end,  for  His  mission  is  as  yet  unfulfilled. 
They  can,  therefore,  return  to  Judea  without  fear.  God, 
Who  is  intent  on  the  fulfilment  of  His  work,  will  watch 
over  His  workmen. 

For  one  moment  Jesus  allows  them  to  reflect  on  these 
words  which  should  have  reassured  them.  Then,  seeing 
them  still  hesitating  and  worried.  He  said  to  them :  "Laza- 
rus our  friend  sleepeth ;  but  I  go  that  I  may  awake  him  out 
of  sleep."  In  like  manner  had  He  spoken  of  the  daughter 
of  Jairus :  "She  is  not  dead,  but  sleepeth,"  as  if  death  were 
only  a  momentary  cessation  of  life  in  sleep.  With  these 
words  He  gives  them  to  understand  that  if  the  Apostles 
find  It  too  diflicult  to  follow  Him,  He  will  go  alone.  How- 
ever, they  could  not  well  forget  that  Lazarus  was  the 
friend  of  all  of  them.  "Lord,"  the  disciples  reply,  "if  he 
sleep  he  shall  do  well."  Thus  do  they  employ  all  the  re- 
sources of  their  minds  in  setting  forth  reasons  to  dissuade 
the  Master  from  a  journey  that  is  disagreeable  to  them. 

[449] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

They  obstinately  refuse  to  believe  that  Lazarus  is  sleep- 
ing the  sleep  of  eternity,  and  they  suppose  that  the  Mas- 
ter had  despatched  a  refreshing  sleep  across  space  to  the 
sick  man,  that  He  already  sees  him  sleeping,  and  that  there- 
fore his  recovery  is  certain.  It  is  useless  then  for  them 
to  go  and  expose  themselves  to  death  in  order  to  save  one 
who  is  out  of  danger.  Weary  of  their  objections,  Jesus 
tells  them  plainly :  "Lazarus  is  dead ;  and  I  am  glad  for 
your  sakes  that  I  was  not  there  that  ye  may  believe." 
Their  faith,  as  we  have  said  before,  was  still  quite  weak. 
Jesus  seems  to  say  that  it  had  not  really  begun.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  the  miracle  they  are  about  to  witness  will  cause 
it  to  flourish  unfailingly.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  the 
JVIaster  congratulates  Himself  that  He  was  not  at  Beth- 
any when  Lazarus  fell  sick.  He  could  not  have  refused  to 
heal  him  for  His  friends,  and  His  disciples  would  not  have 
seen  the  astounding  prodigy  of  His  resurrection.  "But 
let  us  go  to  him !"  exclaims  Jesus,  thus  leading  on  the  little 
group  who  were  deeply  moved  at  this  sad  news.  Where- 
upon Thomas  says  to  his  colleagues :  "Let  us  also  go,  that 
we  may  die  with  him !"  We  see  from  these  words  that  the 
Apostles  seriously  believed  in  the  danger  of  this  journey. 
They  expected  to  lose  their  lives  in  its  accomplishment.  It 
was  strange  that,  even  at  this  epoch,  the  Apostles'  attach- 
ment to  the  Master  rested  more  on  affection  than  on  faith. 
They  do  not  wish  to  leave  Him  because  they  love  Him, 
and  they  fear  to  follow  Him  because  they  do  not  trust  the 
encouraging  words  which  He  has  just  spoken  to  them. 

On  arriving  at  Bethany,  they  learned  that  Lazarus  had 
been  buried  four  days.^     A  large  crowd  of  relatives  and 

^  Lazarus  had  died  probably  on  the  very  day  on  which  the  message  was 
sent  to  Jesus.  As  we  do  not  know  where  in  Persea  Jesus  happened  to  be 
at  that  time,  we  cannot  tell  precisely  the  length  of  time  it  took  for  the  news 
to  reach  Him,  nor  how  long  it  took  Him  to  reach  Bethany;  but  it  is  evident 
that  with  the  forty-eight  hours'  delay  in  Persea  and  the  time  spent  on  the 

[  450  ] 


BOOK  in]         JESUS   GOES  TO   BETHANY 

friends  had  assembled  to  share  in  the  mourning  of  the  two 
sisters.^  They  had  come  mostly  from  Jerusalem,  hardly 
three  kilometres  distant.  Among  the  Jews,  it  was  the  cus- 
tom to  bury  the  corpse  the  very  day  of  its  death  and  be- 
fore sunset,  but  the  mourning  ordinarily  lasted  for  a  week. 
This  was  the  case  here,  for  the  Gospel  gives  us  to  under- 
stand that  everything  was  done,  in  this  devout  household 
of  Bethany,  according  to  the  conventional  usages  of  the 
upper  class.* 

Like  a  particularly  watchful  mistress  of  the  house — such 
is  the  character  in  which  we  know  her — Martha  is  the  first 
to  know  that  Jesus  is  come.  Without  taking  time  to  tell 
her  sister,  whose  nature  inclined  her  to  shut  herself  up  in 
a  more  silent  and  emotionless  grief,  she  runs  to  meet  the 
Master.  Her  appearance  betrays  the  impression  that  dom- 
inates her.  Affliction  forgets  the  precautions  of  language 
which  friendship  ordinarily  observes  toward  a  superior, 
and  through  our  tears  we  see  only  the  friend.  In  a  tone 
of  tender  reproach  Martha  exclaims :  "Lord,  if  Thou  hadst 
been  here,  my  brother  had  not  died !"  Then  with  the  dis- 
cretion of  a  woman  of  refinement,  and  with  the  faith  of  a 
believer,  she  adds :  "But  now,  also,  I  know  that  whatsoever 
Thou  wilt  ask  of  God,  God  will  give  it  Thee."  She  be- 
lieved in  the  possibility  of  bringing  Lazarus  back  to  life, 
but  she  dared  not  express  in  words  so  extreme  a  desire. 
This  confidence,  suddenly  inspired,  perhaps,  by  some  words 
of  the  disciples  concerning  Jesus'  intentions,  and  justified, 

journey  we  can  easily  count  the  four  or  five  days,  complete  or  only  begun, 
mentioned  in  St.  John  xi,  17. 

^  As  no  man  is  mentioned,  either  father  or  brother-in-law  of  Lazarus,  but 
only  the  two  women,  we  conclude  that  they  were  the  only  immediate  relatives 
of  the  dead. 

^The  two  sisters  (xi,  19)  are  represented  as  sitting  in  solemn  grief  in 
the  midst  of  the  people  of  the  household:  irpbs  ras  irfpl  UdpOav.  The 
servants  shared  in  the  mourning  and  in  the  fasts  of  their  mistresses.  {Esther 
iv,  16.) 

[451] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  Tpart  second 

besides,  by  what  she  knows  of  the  Master's  power  over 
death,  does  her  especial  honour.  Yet  we  cannot  deny  that 
there  is  a  certain  imperfection  in  her  manner  of  expressing 
it.  Jesus  needs  not  to  ask  His  Father  to  restore  hfe.  He 
will  prove  that  His  own  power  is,  indeed,  sufficient.  "Thy 
brother  shall  rise  again.  Martha  saith  to  Him:  I  know 
that  he  shall  rise  again  in  the  resurrection  at  the  last  day." 
Underneath  this  note  of  apparent  discouragement  and  by 
its  profound  grief,  Martha  betrays  her  design  of  forcing 
Jesus  to  explain  His  response.  He  does  not  hesitate  to  do 
so :  "I  am  the  Resurrection  and  the  Life,"  He  says  with  sig- 
nificant solemnity.  No  need  of  waiting  until  the  end  of  the 
world ;  it  is  here  and  on  the  lips  of  Him  Who  speaks.  The 
Son  of  Man,  Who  is  to  give  life  again  to  the  world  in  the 
future,  can  indeed  restore  to  life  one  dead  man  in  the  pres- 
ent. But  to  merit  His  powerful  intervention,  one  must  be- 
lieve that  He  is  really  the  Life,  in  the  broadest  and  highest 
sense  of  the  word.  Martha  has  spoken  to  Him  of  praying 
to  the  Father.  The  Word,  Who  has  life  in  Him,  the  Word, 
by  Whom  all  things  have  been  made  and  subsist,  needs  not 
to  intercede ;  He  has  only  to  act.  "He  that  believeth  in  Me," 
He  adds,  "although  he  be  dead,  shall  live,  and  every  one 
that  liveth  and  believeth  in  Me,  shall  not  die  forever."  It 
is  of  the  spiritual  life  and  of  the  eternal  life,  the  immediate 
fruits  of  a  sincere  faith  in  the  Saviour,  that  He  speaks  here ; 
but  in  a  special  sense.  The  Master  probably  means  that, 
since  He  is  Life  in  its  highest  expression,  there  can  be  no 
real  death  for  those  who  are  intimately  united  to  Him  by 
faith.  The  passing  from  a  Christian  life  in  time  to  a 
happy  life  in  eternity  can  hardly  be  called  death.  Death 
implies  entrance  into  darkness,  and,  for  the  faithful,  this 
is  an  entrance  into  perfect  light.  In  this  sense  we  have 
said  elsewhere,  with  the  Master,  the  true  believers  are 
immortal.     However,  we  may  conclude,  too,  that  God  in 

[  452  ] 


BOOK  III]         JESUS   GOES  TO   BETHANY 

certain  circumstances  gives  to  the  truly  faithful  the  power 
of  commanding  death  itself,  by  depriving  it  of  its  victims. 

"Believest  thou  this  ?"  asks  the  Master.  This  is  the  first 
condition  required  for  the  performance  of  the  miracle. 
Martha  has  perceived  the  lesson,  and  at  once  corrects,  in 
a  new  profession  of  faith,  the  error  she  had  allowed  herself 
to  utter  a  moment  ago :  "Yea,  Lord,  I  have  believed  that 
Thou  are  Christ  the  Son  of  the  Living  God,  Who  art  come 
into  this  world."  Of  a  certainty,  the  testimony  called  for 
and  given  is  splendid  for  its  clearness  and  its  courage.  If 
she  asked  Jesus  to  pray  to  the  Father  it  was  not  that  she 
took  Him  for  a  mere  prophet;  she  has  long  looked  upon 
Him  as  the  Son,  and  not  the  servant,  of  God.  She  knows 
that  He  has  come  down  from  heaven  to  assume  our  human 
nature,  to  become  the  Man-God,  the  Christ,  foretold  by 
the  prophets  and  awaited  of  Israel.  This  is  her  creed. 
If  she  has  not  simply  repeated  the  definition  which  Jesus 
gives  of  Himself,  it  is  because  she  means  to  say  even  more, 
and  especially  to  express  her  thought  in  terms  which  she 
understands  better,  because  she  has  long  meditated  on  them. 

Satisfied  with  her  response  and  with  the  favourable  dis- 
positions which  she  perceives  in  the  Master,  Martha  begins 
to  hope  for  her  brother.  She  hastily  returns  to  the  house, 
with  the  decision  of  one  looking  for  instant  help.  The  in- 
fluence which  her  sister  may  have  over  the  Master's  heart 
is  well  known  to  her.  She  judges  it  time  to  employ  it. 
Besides,  Jesus  seems  Himself  to  have  called  for  Mary.'^ 
Martha,  therefore,  takes  her  sister  aside :  "The  Master  is  "^ 
come,"  she  tells  her,  "and  calleth  for  thee."  Jesus  had 
not  been  desirous  of  presenting  Himself  in  too  promiscu- 
ous a  crowd  when  exacting  from  the  two  sisters  the  act 

^  This,  at  least,  is  what  Martha  tells  her  sister. 

*  It  would  seem  as  if  Jesus  had  no  other  name  than  Master  or  Lord  for 
tliis  devout  household,  where  He  was  really  the  Master  of  all  hearts. 

[453] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [paet  second 

of  faith  on  which  the  resurrection  of  their  brother  de- 
pended. The  categorical  reply  of  these  courageous  behev- 
ers  would  have  excited  too  many  protestations,  and  the  in- 
credulity of  some  would  have  been  a  hateful  shadow  beside 
the  bright  faith  of  the  others.  It  was  perhaps  outside  the 
village  that  the  Saviour  had  halted,  not  far  from  the 
place  where  the  family  had  its  burial  cave.  On  hearing 
the  words :  "The  Master  is  come,"  Mary  rises  in  a  trans- 
port of  joy,  leaves  the  assembly,  and,  swift  as  the  flight 
of  her  heart,  she  hastens  to  His  side.  The  mourners  imag- 
ining that,  in  the  surrender  of  her  inconsolable  grief,  she 
is  about  to  go  to  the  tomb  to  utter  her  last  lamentation, 
all  follow  to  weep  with  her  and  to  comfort  her  in  her 
sorrow.  Thus,  without  suspecting  it,  witnesses  came  in 
crowds  to  behold  with  their  own  eyes  and  to  touch  with 
their  own  hands  the  miracle  which  Jesus  was  about  to  work. 
To  hurry  to  the  spot  where  the  Master  was  waiting,  to 
penetrate  the  group  of  disciples,  and  to  throw  herself  at 
His  feet,'^  was  but  the  work  of  a  moment  for  Mary.  There 
in  tears  she  repeated  the  words  which  she  must  have  fre- 
quently exchanged  with  her  sister:  "Lord,  if  Thou  hadst 
been  here,^  my  brother  had  not  died."  These  were  exactly 
Martha's  words,  but  with  this  sole  difference  that  Mary 
is  content  to  insinuate  by  her  suppliant  attitude  the  prayer 
which  her  sister  had  added  to  her  tender  reproach.  She 
knows  well  that  in  her  eyes  the  Master  will  read  the 
desires  of  her  heart.  The  very  silence  she  observes  after 
her  first  word  of  regret  contains  something  particularly 
touching.  Martha,  the  more  positive,  spoke  like  a  woman 
of  mind;  Mary,  the  more  sentimental,  has  spoken  like  a 

^  We  have  said  that  in  the  Master's  presence  this  devoted  friend  could 
find  no  other  posture. 

*  In  the  phrase  ovk  tiv  airtQavtv  fxov  b  a.Se\(p6s,  the  particular  position  of  the 
word  fiov,  "  viy, "  shows  that  Mary  reUed  intentionally  on  this  word  as  a  sign 
that  part  of  herself  as  it  were  had  perished. 

[454] 


BOOK  III]         JESUS   GOES  TO   BETHANY 

woman  of  heart.  The  Jews  who  had  followed  her  wept 
with  her.  This  spectacle  did  not  fail  to  move  Jesus,  and 
the  Evangelist  says  that  He  "groaned  in  spirit,  and 
troubled  Himself."  What  was  this  groaning,^  which  is 
repeated  at  the  moment  when  the  traitor  is  denounced  at 
the  Last  Supper,  and  which  breaks  forth  in  its  fulness 
at  the  approach  of  the  final  catastrophe  in  the  agony  at 
Gethsemane?  Its  cause  must  be  sought  in  the  two  contra- 
dictory sentiments  that  occupy  Jesus'  soul:  on  the  one 
hand  the  eager  desire  to  do  the  work  demanded  of  His 
omnipotence,  and  on  the  other  the  full  consciousness  of 
the  fatal  consequences  that  this  work  will  entail  for  Him. 
To  raise  Lazarus  from  the  grave  is  to  sign  His  own  death- 
warrant.  Such  a  miracle  at  the  very  gates  of  Jerusalem 
must  inevitably  excite  the  most  implacable  anger,  and  many 
of  these  same  Jev/s  whom  He  now  beholds  sympathising 
with  His  friends  will  to-morrow  join  with  the  Sanhedrim 
in  crying  out  that  for  this  very  prodigy  He  deserves  to 
die.  This  clear  vision  of  evil  ready  to  triumph  on  account 
of  that  very  favour  He  is  besought  to  do,  causes  a  holy 
shudder  mingled  with  indignation  deep  in  the  soul  of  Jesus. 
But  His  decision  is  quickly  made.  He  will  accomplish  the 
miracle. 

"Where  have  you  laid  him.'"'  He  asks  firmly.  Not  that 
the  place  of  burial  was  really  unknown  to  Him.  He  Who, 
although  far  from  Bethany,  had,  by  His  divine  prescience, 
beheld  the  death  of  Lazarus,  knew  without  a   doubt  in 

*  Some  have  thought  that  Jesus  was  angry  at  His  own  sensitiveness ;  there 
is  no  reason  for  thinking  so;  for  He  will  soon  abandon  Himself  to  it  with 
touching  simplicity.  Others  supfKJse  that  the  attitude  of  the  crowd  dis- 
pleased Him ;  but  it  would  be  diflicult  to  say  why,  since  they  wept  with  the 
two  sisters.  Is  He  angry  at  an  unseen  enemy,  at  death,  whose  power  He 
was  going  to  humble;  at  sin,  at  Satan,  the  source  of  death?  Many  say  so. 
But,  relying  on  analogous  passages  of  the  Gospel,  wherein  Jesus'  soul  ex- 
periences an  emotion  comparable  to  this,  we  arrive  at  the  explanation  which 
we  give,  and  which  is  the  most  satisfactory. 

[455] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [pabt  second 

which  tomb  he  had  been  placed.  Jesus'  question,  Hke  that 
which  God  asked  Adam  amid  the  trees  of  the  earthly  para- 
dise: "Where  art  thou?"  in  no  way  implies  ignorance  in 
Him  Who  asks  it.  It  may  be  that  its  purpose  was,  as  in 
the  conversation  with  the  woman  of  Samaria,  or  with  the 
disciples  of  Emmaus,  to  remind  us  that  in  Jesus  there  were 
two  natures,  and  that  in  Him  we  must  never  dissociate  the 
man  who  questions  from  God  Who  restores  to  life.  "Lord, 
come  and  see,"  was  the  answer;  and  they  took  their  way 
toward  the  sepulchre. 

There  is  no  sight  more  poignant  than  the  stone  beneath 
which  lie  buried  those  whom  we  have  loved.  The  heart 
breaks  before  this  sad  and  inexorable  reality.  At  the  foot 
of  the  funeral  monument  the  mourning  of  the  two  sisters 
was  redoubled.  The  multitude  wept  with  them.  This 
sight  moved  Jesus  anew,  and  from  His  divine  eyes  tears 
were  seen  to  flow.^*^  The  astonishment  of  the  Jews  was 
great.  One  commonly  imagines  that  superior  men  are 
above  such  tenderness,  as  if  a  delicate  susceptibility  were 
not  one  of  the  most  beautiful  sides  of  the  human  soul. 
St.  John  has  thought  otherwise  in  his  Gospel,  and  the  more 
he  demonstrates  Jesus  as  God,  the  more  does  it  seem  that 
he  also  seeks  to  make  us  admire  Him  as  man.  How  con- 
soling it  is  for  us  to  see  our  kind  Saviour  sharing  like  a 
faithful  friend  in  the  grief  of  those  He  loves !  Not  cold 
like  marble,  nor  wholly  beyond  us  like  a  pure  spirit.  He 
has  a  heart  of  flesh,  He  loves.  He  mourns.  He  weeps,  and 
associates  Himself  in  all  the  actions  of  virtuous  humanity 
that  He  may  render  them  divine.  To  the  two  women  of 
Bethany  belongs  the  honour  of  having,  through  sympathy, 
caused  the  shedding  of  such  holy  tears.     He  had  not  wept 

'"The  Evangelist  does  not  say  of  Him  as  of  the  others,  tKXavatv,  but 
iSaKpycrei/,  to  signify  that  He  wept  without  groaning.  His  emotion  was 
dignified  and  cahn. 

[456] 


BOOK  III]         JESUS   GOES  TO   BETHANY 

in  Jairus'  house  nor  at  the  sight  of  the  funeral  procession 
at  Nairn.  Before  other  dead,  His  heart  had  felt  only  a 
divine  compassion ;  before  the  dead  body  of  a  friend,  it 
experiences  all  the  tenderness  of  human  affection. 

As  they  noticed  the  tears  on  His  cheeks,  many,  moved 
by  His  tenderness,  exclaimed :  "Behold  how  He  loved  him !" 
Others  less  friendly  said  one  to  another:  "Could  not  He, 
that  opened  the  eyes  of  the  man  born  blind,  have  caused 
that  this  man  should  not  die?"  For  to  restore  the  sight 
is  more  difficult  than  to  arrest  the  course  of  an  ordinary 
disease.  If  Jesus  has  not  prevented  Lazarus  from  dying, 
it  is  either  through  inability  or  through  indifference.  If 
the  first  be  true,  then  why  pose  as  a  thaumaturgus  .'*  If 
the  second,  why  weep  for  him  whom  He  has  allowed  to  die.'' 

These  malevolent  observations  betray  to  the  Master  that 
His  enemies  are  not  far  off.  Through  their  hypocritical 
mourning,  they  are  watching  Him,  then,  with  malice.  For 
the  second  time  His  soul  was  stirred  with  a  holy  trembling. 
The  danger  is  plainly  imminent ;  but  He  fears  not.  "Take 
away  the  stone !"  He  says  authoritatively.  "The  tomb 
was  a  cave,"  says  the  Evangelist,  "and  a  stone  was  laid 
over  it."  ^^  At  this  moment,  Martha,  who  by  her  prayers 
has  moved  Him  to  this  bold  undertaking,  seems  to  hesitate. 
She  almost  wishes  to  stop  here.  "Lord,"  she  says,  "by 
this  time  he  stinketh,  for  he  is  now  of  four  days"  dead. 
The  resurrection  in  this  case  will  have  to  be  a  second  crea- 
tion, for  life  has  long  since  left  the  body,  and  decomposi- 
tion has  set  in.  The  odour  of  the  poorly  embalmed  remains 
will  be  unbearable;  ^^  it  is  too  late.     "Did  I  not  say  to 

'^  In  Notre  Voyage  aux  Pays  Bibliques  we  have  observed  (vol.  i,  p.  245) 
that  the  tomb  shown  at  Bethany  at  the  present  time  hardly  answers  this 
description. 

'^  The  science  of  embalming  was  very  imperfect  among  the  Jews.  They 
removed  no  portion  of  the  body,  neither  intestines  nor  other  parts  especially 
likely  to  decompose.  Enveloping  it  in  bands  and  aromatics,  they  thought 
this  sufficient  to  prevent  putrefaction. 

[457] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [paht  second 

thee,"  Jesus  responds  In  solemn  tones,  "that  if  thou  be- 
lieve, thou  shalt  see  the  glory  of  God?"  Although  sur- 
prising, the  weakening  of  faith  which  Martha  seems  to 
have  experienced  here  is  not  inexplicable.  There  are 
moments  when,  in  a  woman's  heart,  affection  readily  con- 
ceives the  most  chimerical  of  fears  and,  taking  these  fears 
for  dangers,  she  lingers  over  suppositions  which,  in  cooler 
moments,  she  would  never  have  entertained.  What  if  Jesus 
should  not  succeed  ?  this  faithful  friend  was  saying  to  her- 
self. And  yet  her  profession  of  faith  a  moment  ago  had 
been  as  explicit  as  Peter's  on  the  road  to  Caesarea. 

The  multitude,  on  the  other  hand,  was  a  prey  to  inde- 
scribable emotion.  When  the  stone  was  rolled  back  from 
the  tomb  there  was  a  solemn  silence. 

Jesus  advanced  toward  the  gloomy  entrance.  It  was 
His  intention  to  render  all  doubt  impossible  as  to  the  nature 
and  import  of  the  act  He  was  about  to  accomplish.  It  had 
once  been  said:  "He  doth  His  miracles  in  the  name  of 
Satan."  To-day  He  will  put  an  end  to  that  objection 
forever.  In  the  presence  of  this  multitude,  He  will  sol- 
emnly invoke  the  name  of  His  Father.  If  the  prodigy 
is  achieved,  it  shall  be  proved  that  God  is  aiding  Him  in 
His  teaching  and  in  His  works.  His  credentials  shall 
have  been  set  forth,  and  He  shall  have  triumphantly  estab- 
lished before  the  most  incredulous  that  He  is  truly  the  Mes- 
siah. His  audience  is  incapable  of  admitting  more.  To 
act  as  God  before  them  would  be  to  go  beyond  their  moral 
temperament  and  to  scandalise  them.  To  diseased  eyes  the 
light  must  be  presented  with  care.  Therefore  Jesus  will 
speak  as  man,  and  will  veil  His  divinity.  And  yet  in  His 
filial  words  the  attentive  ear  will  detect  the  intimate,  per- 
manent, perfect  union  that  exists  between  Him  and  the 
Father.  He  will  pray,  but  without  any  fear  of  refusal. 
To  ask  and  to  be  heard  are  synonymous  for  Him.     For 

[458] 


BOOK  in]         JESUS  GOES  TO  BETHANY 

in  His  person  the  two  natures,  divine  and  human,  are  so 
intimately  united  that  the  God  could  refuse  nothing  to  the 
man,  any  more  than,  in  the  eternal  union  of  the  Trinity, 
the  Father  could  refuse  aught  to  His  Son:  "Father,"  ex- 
claims Jesus,  lifting  His  eyes  to  heaven,  "I  give  Thee 
thanks  that  Thou  hast  heard  Me.  And  I  knew  that  Thou 
hearest  Me  always,  but  because  of  the  people  who  stand 
about  have  I  said  it ;  that  they  may  believe  that  Thou  hast 
sent  Me."  So  God  is  manifestly  participating  in  that 
which  is  about  to  occur.  If  the  dead  man  revive,  either 
God  is  not  God,  or  Jesus  is  His  representative  on  earth. 
Then,  with  a  loud  voice,  that  penetrates  the  depths  of  the 
sepulchre  to  awaken  the  sleeping  man:  "Lazarus,"  com- 
manded Jesus,  "come  forth !"  ^^  And  the  dead  man,  shaken 
in  his  sleep  by  this  sovereign  command,  arises.  His  feet 
and  hands  are  enclosed  in  bands,  his  face  covered  with  the 
shroud.  He  essays  to  walk  a  step.  The  crowd  is  in  pro- 
found stupor.  Before  this  body,  which  so  clearly  proves 
itself  alive  beneath  the  trappings  of  death,  all  are  silent 
and  motionless.  The  Evangelist,  who  relates  the  prodigy, 
seems  himself  to  be  under  the  awful  impression  which  he 
then  received.  Meanwhile,  in  the  midst  of  the  general 
amazement,  Jesus,  as  calm  as  if  He  were  effecting  the  most 
ordinary  of  His  charitable  works,  bids  those  who  are  pres- 
ent: "Loose  him,  and  let  him  go."  It  was  as  if  He  had 
meant  to  say :  "I  have  done  My  work,  do  yours ;  take  from 
him  the  bonds  that  detain  him.  He  asks  only  freedom  to 
move  and  to  return  with  you  into  his  house." 

The  Evangelist  says  nothing  of  the  touching  scene  that 
must  have  followed  the  performance  of  this  miracle,  of 
the  joy  or  the  gratitude  of  the  two  sisters,  of  Lazarus' 
sentiments,  and  of  the  Apostles'  enthusiasm.     He  keeps 

"  It  is  remarkable  that  in  the  Greek  text,  Jesiis  does  not  employ  any  verb 
in  this  imperative  command  to  death :  ScOpo  ^u. 

I  459  ] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [pakt  second 

straight  on  to  his  goal,  to  his  chief  object,  which  is  the 
effect  of  so  important  an  event  with  regard  to  Jesus.  In 
the  course  of  his  narrative,  he  has  shown  us  the  Master 
thinking  of  the  storm  which  this  miracle  would  stir  up 
in  Jerusalem,  and  he  concludes  by  showing  how  deeply 
founded  were  His  gloomy  forebodings. 

According  to  his  account,  in  fact,  in  the  souls  of  many 
a  great  work  of  religion  had  been  effected.  The  prodigy 
was  conclusive ;  they  believed  in  the  Messianic  character  of 
Jesus,  and  openly  professed  it.  Others,  on  the  contrary, 
entertained  quite  opposite  sentiments,  and,  losing  not  an 
instant,  they  hurried  to  Jerusalem  to  report  to  the  Phari- 
sees what  had  occurred.  It  was  to  the  hostile  party,  of 
course,  that  they  brought  the  news,  in  the  hope  of  bring- 
ing matters  to  a  head.    Their  plan  was  wholly  successful. 


[460] 


CHAPTER    XVI 

THE  SANHEDRIM  DECIDES   TO  MAKE 
AWAY   WITH   JESUS— HE   RE- 
TREATS  TO   EPHREM 

Solemn  Assembly  of  the  Sanhedrim  —  A  Probable 
Account  of  the  Meeting  —  Coarse  and  Brutal 
Words  of  Caiphas — His  Involuntary  Prophecy — 
Jesus  Retreats  to  Ephrem — The  Apostles  Must 
Pray  Constantly  That  the  Kingdom  of  God  May 
Come — Parable  of  the  Unjust  Judge  and  the 
Widow.     (St.  John  xi,  47-54 ;  St.  Luke  xvlii,  1-8.) 

The  excitement  to  which  the  news  of  such  a  miracle 
gave  rise  in  Jerusalem  itself  and  in  the  country  round 
about,  drew  from  the  chiefs  of  Israel  the  declaration  that 
they  must  needs  hold  an  official  assembly  and  consider  the 
situation.  It  seemed  to  them  to  be  grave,  and  all  the 
prudence  of  the  Sanhedrim  was  none  too  great  to  solve  the 
difficulty.*  To  permit  Jesus  to  be  acclaimed  publicly  as 
Messiah  would  be  to  accept  all  the  contingencies  that  would 
follow.  For  a  religious  revolution,  according  to  them, 
implied  a  social  revolution.  The  coming  of  the  Messiah 
could  not  but  be  the  restoration  of  the  theocracy  in  Israel, 

*  St.  John  (xi,  47)  says  that  the  assembly  of  the  Great  Council  was  con- 
voked by  the  chief-priests  and  the  Pharisees,  that  is,  at  the  instigation  of 
the  latter  and  by  the  authority  of  the  former. 

[461] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [paet  second 

and,  consequently,  the  suppression  of  the  foreign  yoke. 
But  the  Romans,  ordinarily,  never  let  go  their  conquered 
prey  without  a  struggle.  And  then  what  combats,  what 
bloody  strife,  perchance,  what  a  catastrophe  might  result ! 
Should  they  fail  in  this  enterprise,  it  would  be  the  last 
of  the  Jewish  people.  They  had  already  too  deeply  felt 
the  weight  of  the  iron  hand  laid  by  Rome  on  the  shoul- 
der of  any  who  essayed  to  shake  off  the  authority  of  Caesar ; 
why  bring  it  on  again?  This  is  what  the  timorous  said. 
Such  were  the  Sadducees.  The  patriots  made  no  reply. 
Before  all  else  they  were  Pharisees,  and  for  them  to  al- 
low Jesus'  influence  to  grow  would  be  to  welcome  their 
own  downfall.  The  sectarian  spirit  never  lapses.  The 
Prophet  of  Nazareth  appeared  to  them  an  enemy  as  odious 
as  their  Roman  oppressors.  Thus  we  see  how,  although 
desirous  of  the  deliverance  of  Israel,  the  great  majority 
feared  to  allow  it  to  be  undertaken.  After  having  so 
eagerly  invoked  the  Messiah,  these  leaders  of  the  people 
were  angered  at  seeing  Him  come. 

As  some  were  desirous  of  preserving  their  prosperity, 
and  others  were  endeavouring  to  maintain  their  religious 
authority,  it  was  evident  that  each  party  placed  its  per- 
sonal interests  before  everything  else.  Thus  is  explained 
the  manner  in  which  the  affair  was  brought  before  the 
Great  Council,  and  the  reflections  which  the  Evangelist 
puts  on  the  lips  of  the  judges.  "What  do  we,  for  this 
man  doth  many  miracles?  If  we  let  him  alone  so,  all  will 
believe  in  him,  and  the  Romans  will  come,  and  take  away 
our  place  and  nation."  The  danger  seemed  the  more  immi- 
nent, as  the  Feast  of  the  Passover  was  at  hand.  In  the 
presence  of  the  great  Thaumaturgus,  the  popular  enthu- 
siasm might  run  to  every  extreme.  Of  the  religious  ques- 
tion itself  not  a  word  was  said.  It  was  difficult  to  deny  the 
miracle ;  the  witnesses  were  too  numerous,  and  it  seemed 

[462] 


BOOK  III]      JESUS  RETREATS  TO  EPHREM 

no  less  so  to  contest  its  force.  The  real  issue  was  thus  set 
aside.  The  question  of  the  public  safety  alone  was  dis- 
cussed, and  we  know  of  what  crimes  judges  are  capable 
when  they  act  with  this  sole  thought  in  mind.  The  con- 
ference waxed  stormy.  The  most  diverse  arguments  ran 
counter  to  each  other  without  any  precise  result.  A  few 
partisans  of  Jesus  hazarded,  perhaps,  timid  protests,  but 
these  were  rare.  Others,  divided  between  their  patriotic 
aspirations  and  their  religious  repugnances,  undecided  be- 
tween their  duty  and  their  apprehensions,  sought  a  middle 
course.  Their  idea  was  to  submit  Jesus  to  a  new  trial,  to 
cite  Him  before  the  tribunal,  to  learn  His  plans  and  inten- 
tions. These  partisans  must  have  been  numerous.  It  was 
probably  against  them  that  the  high-priest  then  in  office 
made  the  following  brutal  attack:  "You  know  nothing; 
neither  do  you  consider  that  it  is  expedient  for  you  that 
one  man  should  die  for  the  people,  and  that  the  whole  na- 
tion perish  not." 

He  who  spoke  thus  was  a  Sadducee ;  in  his  language  we 
discover  the  cynical  rudeness  which,  according  to  Jose- 
phus,  was  characteristic  of  this  positivist  sect.^  His  name, 
or  rather  his  surname,  was  Caiphas.^     That  year,*  which 

^  Josephus  says  {B.  J.,  ii,  8,  24):  ^aSSovKaiuy  koI  nphs  aW-fiKovs  rh  ^Oot 
aypicirfpov. 

^  Caiphas,  from  the  Aramaic  Keipha  and  from  the  Hebrew  Keiph  ("  stone," 
"  rock  "),  the  same  as  Cephas,  was  only  a  surname  expressive,  perhaps,  of  the 
harshness  of  his  proud  disposition.  We  have  seen  how  Jesus,  with  another 
meaning,  had  given  this  same  surname  to  him  who  was  to  be  high-priest 
in  the  New  Law.  The  true  name  of  this  high-priest  was  Joseph.  (See 
Antuj.,  xviii,  2,  2,  and  xviii,  4,  2.) 

*  Although  the  Evangelist  says  that  Caiphas  was  the  high-priest  of  that 
year,  it  is  not  because  he  is  ignorant  of  the  prerogative  of  irremovability 
that  belongs  to  the  high-priesthood ;  but  he  knows  that  in  reality  the  Romans 
had  suppressed  this  hfe  dignity.  The  high-priest  being  the  very  soul  of  the 
Jewish  nation,  it  appeared  dangerous  to  the  conquerors  to  allow  the  same 
personage  time  to  establish  his  popularity  on  a  deep  basis.  Caiphas'  im- 
mediate predecessors,  Simon,  Eleazar,  Ismael,  had  not  retained  the  high- 
priesthood  for  more  than  a  year  each.  (Antiq.,  xviii,  2, 2.)  Hence  from  that 
time  forth  the  people  expected  to  see  the  high-priest  changed  each  year,  and 

[463] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [paht  second 

was  to  be  the  last  of  the  Ancient  Covenant,  he  was  fulfill- 
ing the  functions  of  high-priest.  To  him  then  came  the 
sad  glory  of  exhausting  the  powers  of  his  priesthood  in 
the  immolation  of  the  great  Victim  Who  was  to  inaugurate 
the  New  Covenant.  It  is  to  that  end  that  he  now  con- 
demns Jesus  to  death.  The  true  force  of  his  homicidal 
words,  as  the  Evangelist  observes,  escapes  him,  and  he 
prophesies  involuntarily,  for  Jesus  shall  die  for  the  nation, 
and  not  only  for  the  nation,  but  for  mankind,  whose  vari- 
ous families  He  shall  unite  in  one.  God  is  sometimes 
pleased  thus  to  give  to  the  words  of  the  wicked  a  mean- 
ing which  they  themselves  do  not  suspect.  Thereby  He 
demonstrates  that,  in  spite  of  their  perverse  wills.  His 
all-powerful  hand  directs  events,  and  assures  the  reign 
of  His  Providence  even  through  the  crimes  of  men.  When 
Pilate,  in  derision,  causes  the  royalty  of  Jesus  Christ  to 
be  proclaimed  from  the  top  of  the  Cross  in  the  three  lan- 
guages of  the  civilised  world,  it  is  evident  that,  criminal 
as  he  is,  he  prophesies  unconsciously  the  universal  reign  of 
the  Messiah.  When  the  Jews  call  down  the  blood  of  the 
Crucified  upon  their  heads  and  upon  those  of  their  children, 
they  do  not  dream  that  their  curse  is  an  oracle  whose  ful- 
filment future  ages  shall  behold  in  consternation.  There, 
in  the  full  assembly  of  the  Sanhedrim,  the  divine  irony  had 
a  special  reason  for  thus  dictating  to  Caiphas  this  bloody 
prediction :  high-priest  and  official  mediator  between  God 
and  the  people,  the  wretched  man  was  the  authorised  organ 
of  the  Divinity  in  Israel.     To  prophesy  was  his  right. 

However  iniquitous  so  radical  a  counsel  might  be,  the 
authority  of  the  man  who  gave  it  caused  it  to  prevail.  In 
this  sublime  assembly  of  the  sages  of  Israel,  a  majority 

the  Evangelist  sjjeaks  under  that  impression.  It  may  be,  too,  that  in  men- 
tioning that  year  with  marked  intention,  he  meant  to  emphasise  the  prophetic 
date  when  the  new  priesthood  was  to  succeed  the  old. 

[  464  ] 


BOOK  III]      JESUS   RETREATS  TO   EPHREM 

was  found  to  decree  that,  without  a  hearing,  without  a 
trial,  by  the  simple  fact  that  He  was  working  miracles  and 
might  present  Himself  as  Messiah,  Jesus  should  be  put  to 
death.  It  was  still  a  far  cry,  indeed,  from  the  decision 
to  its  execution ;  for  the  Sanhedrim  did  not  hold  absolutely 
in  their  own  hands  the  right  to  inflict  capital  punishment ; 
but  from  that  time  forward  they  held  a  series  of  meet- 
ings with  a  view  to  carrying  out  the  resolution  they  had 
adopted. 

Aided  by  intrigue,  the  enemies  of  Jesus  were  certain  of 
attaining  their  end.  He,  Who  until  now  had  escaped  all 
partisan  plots,  the  sudden  but  transitory  overflow  of  popu- 
lar fury,  the  timidly  undertaken  plans  for  gaining  posses- 
sion of  His  Person,^  could  no  longer  avoid  the  sentence 
which  had  been  juridically  pronounced.  According  to 
what  the  Evangelist  says,  the  order  was  officially  made 
known  to  every  believer  to  hasten  to  reveal,  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible, the  place  of  His  retreat.^  Not  that  the  Master  abso- 
lutely could  not  be  found,  but  it  was  necessary  that  by  this 
public  summons  all  should  know  how  dangerous  and  crim- 
inal He  was  adjudged  to  be.  They  sought  first  to  dis- 
grace Him,  the  more  effectively  afterward  to  destroy  Him. 

Jesus  made  no  delay  in  quitting  the  neighbourhood  of 
Jerusalem.  He  knew  that  He  could  no  longer  appear  in 
any  place  where  the  hierarchical  party  had  its  representa- 
tives. The  Evangelist  tells  us  that  He  directed  His  steps 
toward  the  country  near  the  desert,  and  took  refuge  in  a 
city  called  Ephrem.^    The  majority  of  geographers  iden- 

« St.  John  V,  16-18;  ix,  22;  vii,  32;  St.  Mark  iii,  6. 

•  St.  John  xi,  57.  If  we  may  believe  a  Jewish  tradition  found  in  the 
Gemara  of  Babylon  (Lightfoot,  Hor.  Hebr.  in  h.  1.),  during  the  forty  days 
that  preceded  the  Passover  a  crier  regularly  proclaimed  that  Jesus,  a  seducer 
of  the  people,  was  to  be  put  to  death.  This  would  be  quite  in  accordance 
with  the  decision  of  the  Sanhedrim. 

'  In  Jos.  xviii,  23-24,  Ephrem  is  named  with  Ophni  (Djifneh  at  the  present 
time) ;  in  /  Kings  xiii,  16,  it  is  near  Machmas.     According  to  II  Paralip. 

[  4-65  ] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

tifj  Ephrem  with  the  modern  Taiyibeh.  In  that  case,  the 
desert  mentioned  would  not  be  that  of  Juda,  but  the  desert 
of  Bethavcn,  which  is  a  continuation  of  it.  However,  this 
identification  seems  arbitrary.  We  know  that  near  the 
desert  of  Juda  itself  (and  very  probably  this  is  the  desert 
referred  to  in  the  Gospel)  there  was  an  ancient  city  the 
ruins  of  which,  El-Phara,  recall  the  name  Ephrem — written 
Ophra  by  some,  Ephron  by  others — much  better  than  Tai- 
yibeh. Moreover,  the  terebinth  of  Pharan,or  Paran,  which 
we  visited  on  the  abrupt  cliffs  of  Ouadhi-Pharah,  became 
famous  owing  to  the  monks  who  settled  there  at  an  early 
date.  We  should  not  therefore  be  wrong  in  believing  that 
it  preserved  the  memory  of  Jesus'  sojourn  in  this  fearful 
solitude.  There  the  hatred  of  the  Pharisees  would  have 
found  it  difficult  to  reach  Him,  even  though  they  had  de- 
creed His  death.  The  desert  was  the  safest  refuge  for 
fugitives.  At  Taiyibeh  Jesus  would  have  been  in  a  centre 
but  little  isolated.  It  is  true  that  from  there  He  could 
easily  pass  over  into  Samaria.  But  it  was  on  the  desert 
especially  that  He  seemed  to  rely.  In  any  case,  it  was 
in  a  town  that  would  afford  Him  refuge  that  Jesus  wished 
to  spend  some  time  in  recollection.  This  isolation  seemed 
to  Him  a  favourable  opportunity  to  give  once  more  im- 
portant instructions  to  His  disciples,  and  to  fortify  His 
own  heart  for  the  final  test.     There  could  be  nothing  more 

xiii,  19,  it  was  near  Bethel  and  Jesana.  Josephus  {B.  J.,  iv,  9,  9)  locates 
it  nearly  at  the  height  of  Bethel,  and  not  far  from  that  city.  Vespasian  left 
a  garrison  in  Ephrem  and  from  there  marched  into  Jerusalem.  All  this 
determined  Robinson  and  the  other  geographers  to  identify  Ephrem  with 
Taiyibeh.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  Exisebius  in  the  Onamasticon  says  that 
Ephrem  was  of  the  tribe  of  Juda  in  the  region  ^Eha  at  the  eighth  mile,  and 
we  would  prefer  to  look  for  it  at  El-Phara.  The  new  editions  of  this  book 
have,  it  is  true,  "at  the  twentieth  mile,"  but  this  is  probably  because 
St.  Jerome  (de  Situ  et  Nmn.  loc.  Hehr.)  had  corrected  this  figure  at 
the  same  time  that  he  suppressed  irepl  rh  opia  Alxias,  to  insert  contra 
septentrionem.  The  mosaic  of  Madaba,  recently  discovered,  follows  his 
indication. 

[46G] 


BOOK  III]      JESUS  RETREATS  TO  EPHREM 

natural  than  that  the  Victim  should  seek  to  sanctify  Him- 
self by  separation  from  the  world,  in  union  with  God,  and 
by  the  free  offering  of  Himself. 

For  their  part,  the  Apostles  could  not  but  be  aware  of 
the  gravity  of  this  solemn  beginning  of  the  end.  The 
timid  hearts  among  them  wished,  perhaps,  that  the  King- 
dom of  God  had  not  come  so  soon,  that  they  might  not 
have  to  witness  its  terrible  forerunners.  The  ardent  souls 
of  others  were  discouraged  by  the  thought  that  the  general 
hostility  would  postpone  its  coming.  In  view  of  the  pub- 
licity given  to  the  resolutions  of  the  Great  Council,  any  illu- 
sion as  to  the  future  appeared  difficult.  These  simple  Gali- 
leans knew  not  that  the  Kingdom  of  God  comes  in  spite  of 
the  wicked,  when  the  righteous  demand  it.  But  the  duty 
of  the  righteous  is  to  interrupt  their  supplications  only 
when  they  have  been  answered.  In  order  to  restore  their 
confidence,  Jesus  said  to  them:  "There  was  a  judge  in  a 
certain  city  who  feared  not  God  nor  regarded  man.  And 
there  was  a  certain  widow  in  that  same  city,  and  she  came 
to  him,  saying:  Avenge  me  of  my  adversary.  And  he 
would  not  for  a  long  time."  There  was  nothing  extraor- 
dinary in  the  fact  itself ;  for,  although  there  were  many 
judges  in  Israel — Moses  had  placed  them  at  the  gate  of 
every  city — just  judges  were  rare,  and  oppressed  widows 
often  had  to  suffer.  In  this  parable  the  magistrate's 
iniquity  is  complete:  he  respects  nothing  either  in  heaven 
or  on  earth,  and  the  poor  woman  is  forced  to  claim  in 
vain  each  day  that  which  her  right  should  have  assured 
her  at  her  first  hearing. 

Finally,  however,  weary  of  listening  to  her  supplica- 
tions, he  who  troubled  himself  neither  about  God  nor  about 
his  fellows,  ended  by  turning  his  attention  to  his  own  in- 
terests. "Although  I  fear  not  God,  nor  regard  man,"  he 
said  with  cynical  pride,  "yet  because  this  widow  is  trouble- 

[467] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [pakt  second 

some  to  me,  I  will  avenge  her,  lest  continually  coming  she 
weary  me."  ^ 

Such  was  the  parable.  Here  is  the  application  which 
Jesus  made  of  it:  "Hear,"  said  He,  "what  the  unjust 
judge  saith."  For  there  is  a  lesson  to  learn  here.  He, 
wicked,  harsh,  careless  of  his  duties  as  he  was,  finally  sur- 
renders to  the  demands  unceasingly  renewed  by  this  poor 
widow;  and  will  not  God,  Who  is  good,  tender,  and  just, 
hearken  to  the  voice  of  His  children?  When  the  unjust 
judge  allows  himself  to  be  moved,  "will  not  God  revenge 
His  elect  who  cry  to  Him  day  and  night,  and  will  He  have 
patience  in  their  regard  ?  I  say  to  you  that  He  will  quickly 
revenge  them."  Therefore  let  there  be  no  discouragement. 
The  poor  widow  represents  mankind  oppressed  by  sin  for 
ages.  Mankind  calls  for  light,  for  truth,  for  the  right  to 
happiness.  All  this  shall  be  given  mankind  by  the  Messiah 
in  His  expiatory  death  and  the  diffusion  of  His  doctrine. 
The  great  souls  of  mankind — and  Jesus  recognises  some 
around  Him — have  only  to  pray  persistently,  raising  their 
cry  of  distress  to  heaven.  The  hour  of  deliverance  is  at 
hand.  The  wicked  shall  not  postpone  it.  By  seeking  to 
check  it,  they  only  hasten  it  on.  The  Kingdom  of  God  is 
there,  not  as  men  imagine  it,  but  as  God  has  willed  it.  Be- 
lieving souls,  be  brave ! 

"But  yet,"  sadly  adds  the  Master,  "the  Son  of  man 
when  He  cometh,  shall  He  find,  think  you,  faith  on  earth.''" 
Shall  the  widow  have  persevered  in  her  supplication  and 
in  the  hope  of  obtaining  what  she  desires .'' 

^  Some  taking  in  a  literal  sense  these  words  which  we  think  better  to 
accept  in  a  figurative  sense,  translate :  "  I  will  avenge,  lest  continually  com- 
ing she  may  tear  out  my  eyes."  The  verb  inrwiridCo)  means  to  strike  one 
below  the  eyes.  It  comes  from  vitdiriov,  a  compound  of  inrS  and  &\}/.  It 
is  found  employed  in  the  sense  of  wounding  some  one  under  the  eyes,  in 
Aristotle,  Rhet,  iii,  11;  Diog.  Laert.,  vi,  89.  St.  Paul  (7  Cor.  xi,  27)  uses 
it  to  qualify  the  severity  which  he  inflicts  upon  his  own  body. 

[  468  ] 


CHAPTER    XVII 

HOW  THE  FIRST  BECOME  LAST  AND 
THE  LAST  FIRST 

Of  Ten  Lepers  Who  Ahe  Healed,  Only  One  Shows 
Gratitude — He  Is  a  Samaritan  Whom  Faith  Makes 
Whole — Parable  of  the  Labourers  Sent  to  the 
Vineyard — The  Significance  of  the  Penny  Given 
to  Each  One — The  Call  to  Salvation  Not  Identi- 
cal WITH  Salvation  Itself  —  Story  of  the  Rich 
Young  Man  —  After  Having  Observed  the  Com- 
mandments, He  Hesitates  Before  the  Evangelical 
Counsels — His  Riches  a  Hindrance  to  His  Enter- 
ing Heaven — Peter's  Question — The  Reward  op 
Those  Who  Abandon  All.  (St.  Luke  xvii,  12-19; 
St.  Matthew  xx,  1-16;  St.  Luke  xviii,  18-30;  St.  Mark 
X,  17-31;  St.  Matthew  xix,  16-30.1) 

Jesus  did  not  stay  long  at  Ephrem.  The  Paschal  feasts 
were  approaching,  and  it  was  His  intention  to  join  the 
Galilean  caravans  as  they  passed  through  Perasa  on  their 
way  to  Jerusalem.  Either  to  avoid  crossing  the  territory 
of  Judea,  where  His  enemies  were  watching  for  Him,  or 
to  evangelise,  as  He  went  along,  the  mountains  of  Samaria, 
where,  at  the  beginning  of  His  ministry,  He  had  so  happily 

*  We  have  gathered  in  this  chapter  certain  incidents  and  discourses  to 
which  no  precise  dates  are  assigned  by  the  Evangelists. 

[469] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

sown  the  good  seed,  He  directed  His  steps  toward  the 
north.  Then  turning  to  the  east,  He  intended  to  reach,  in 
His  own  good  time,  the  most  frequented  fords  of  the  Jor- 
dan, in  the  neighbourhood  of  Beisan,  where  the  caravans 
going  up  to  the  Paschal  festival  would  soon  pass. 

St.  Luke  here  has  a  word  which  proves  the  fidelity  of  tlie 
documents  from  which  he  derives  his  information,  and 
which  he  sets  down,  perhaps  without  grasping  their  full 
significance.  In  one  of  the  two  clauses  in  which  he  recalls 
that  Jesus'  journey  to  Jerusalem,  begun  almost  two 
months  before,  still  continued,  he  observes  that  the  Master 
traversed  the  frontier  regions  of  Samaria  and  Galilee,  or, 
perhaps,  crossed  through  these  two  provinces,^  beginning 
with  Samaria.  Whichever  meaning  we  give  to  this  rather 
obscure  text,  it  is  evident  that,  since  Samaria  is  mentioned 
before  Galilee,  Jesus'  journey  was  from  the  south  toward 
the  north.  He  went  from  Ephrem  toward  the  plain  of 
Esdrelon,  where,  turning  to  the  right,  without  advancing 
farther.  He  proceeded  along  the  borders  both  of  Samaria 
and  Galilee.  In  that  part  of  Palestine,  as  in  Peraea,  the 
hierarchical  party  had  no  influence.  The  Master  resumed 
His  preaching,  multiplying  as  He  went  the  miraculous 
cures  which  attested  the  divinity  of  His  doctrine. 

Thus  one  day,  as  He  was  on  the  point  of  entering  a 
village.  He  encountered  a  group  of  lepers.  There  were 
ten  of  them.     In  all  probability  these  unfortunate  beings, 

^The  text  it-fipxfTo  5ii  fif<rov  ^a/xapeias  Kol  Ta\i\aias  may  indeed  sig- 
nify either  that  Jesus  traversed  successively  the  interior  of  Samaria  and 
Gahlee  or  only  tliat  He  advanced  between  these  two  countries.  The  use 
of  the  phrase  Sta  fita-ov  in  the  latter  sense  is  quite  frequent.  (Comp.  Xenophon, 
Anab.,  i,  4— i,  where  he  speaks  of  a  river  flowing  between  two  ramparts ; 
Plato,  Leg.,  vii,  p.  805;  comp.  Ezech.  xxii,  26;  Judges  xv,  4;  III  Kings 
v,  12.)  This  is  the  only  sense  acceptable  in  this  instance,  for  we  can- 
not admit  that  the  Evangelist,  showing  how  Jesus  continued  His  journey 
to  Jerusalem  (eV  t^  7rop«u€crflai  avrhv  ui  'UpovaaK-l\ix),  makes  Him  traverse 
Gahlee  from  one  end  to  the  other  (5ja  fitaov).  It  v.ill  be  noticed  that  he 
puts  no  article  before  the  names  of  the  provinces. 

[470] 


BOOK  III]     HOW  THE    FIRST  BECOME   LAST 

dwelling  together  in  some  solitary  place  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, had  suddenly  been  informed  that  He  was  passing  by. 
Among  them  there  was  at  least  one  Samaritan.  We  have 
just  said  that  they  were  near  the  borders  of  Samaria.  His 
presence  therefore  is  not  surprising,  nor  is  his  companion- 
ship with  Jews.  In  the  great  woes  of  life  national  an- 
tipathies are  effaced,  and  human  brotherhood  revives.  Full 
of  hope,  they  had  hastened  to  meet  the  Thaumaturgus  as 
He  passed,^  but  through  fear  of  the  multitude  they  had 
stationed  themselves  at  some  distance  from  His  path.  The 
consciousness  of  their  legal  impurity  made  this  a  duty. 
As  soon  as  the  Master  appeared,  they  strove  to  cry  out  to 
attract  His  attention.  The  leprosy,  affecting  all  the  cellu- 
lar tissues,  gave  their  voices  a  hoarse  and  stifled  sound. 
"Jesus,  Master,  have  mercy  on  us,"  they  said.  Their 
mournful  cry  drew  the  Saviour's  attention.  Without  fur- 
ther preface,  He  said  to  them :  "Go,  show  yourselves  to  the 
priests."  This  was  putting  their  faith  to  the  test.  Be- 
fore healing  them.  He  sent  them  to  have  their  recovery 
proved.  That  they  were  to  regain  their  health  on  the  way, 
as  the  recompense  of  their  obedient  faith,  was  naturally 
understood. 

In  fact,  while  they  were  going  in  search  of  the  priests,* 
they  were  suddenly  cured.  Without  hesitation,  one  of 
them  deemed  it  his  duty  to  forget  the  priests  to  whom  he 
was  sent,  and  to  remember  only  the  Benefactor  from  Whom 
he  was  departing.  Transported  with  joy  and  gratitude, 
he  returned  at  once  to  the  Master,  glorifying  God  with  a 

'  This  is  expressed  in  the  verb  air^yrriaav. 

*  It  has  been  asked  to  what  priests  Jesus  had  sent  the  Samaritan  leper. 
The  most  simple  answer  is  that  Jesus,  speakmg  in  a  general  way  to  a  group 
of  Jews,  left  to  the  Samaritan  who  happened  to  be  among  them,  the  care  of 
deciding  what  he  had  to  do  himself.  Is  it  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
he  found  the  religion  of  the  Thaumaturgus  Who  healed  him  better  than 
his  own,  and  concluded  from  this  that  salvation  came  from  the  Jews? 

[471  ] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [pabt  second 

loud  voice.''  He  rejoined  Him,  no  doubt,  in  the  very  town 
which  He  had  just  entered,  for  the  rapidity  of  the  narra- 
tion gives  us  to  understand  that  all  this  occurred  within 
a  brief  space  of  time.  There  he  threw  himself  at  His  feet, 
and  gave  utterance  to  his  gratitude. 

This  conduct  on  the  leper's  part  seems  perfectly  natural, 
and  yet  it  was  praised  as  most  meritorious,  probably 
because  of  its  contrast  with  the  ingratitude  or  the  in- 
difference of  the  nine  lepers  who  did  not  return.  When 
Jesus  saw  him  alone  obedient  to  the  voice  of  gratitude, 
He  experienced  a  great  feeling  of  sadness.  In  this  group 
of  lepers  He  read  the  future  history  of  mankind.  The 
immense  majority  will  be  ungrateful  and  unloving  even 
after  the  Redemption.  "Were  not  ten  made  clean.?"  He 
asked,  "and  where  are  the  nine.'"'  His  heart,  which  had 
counted  the  number  of  these  unfortunates,  certainly  had 
a  right  to  count  the  number  of  the  grateful.  What  a 
difference!  There  were  ten  who  supplicated  Him  a  mo- 
ment ago ;  there  is  but  one  to  thank  Him  now,  and  even 
he  is  not  a  Jew  but  a  Samaritan.  "There  is  no  one  found 
to  return  and  give  glory  to  God  but  this  stranger.?" 
What  had  become  of  the  others.?  More  occupied  with 
themselves  than  with  their  Benefactor,  they  had  hastened 
first  of  all  to  have  their  recovery  legally  established,  that 
they  might  the  sooner  resume  their  social  relations.  They 
had  postponed  their  thanksgiving  until  later.  The  first 
hour  belongs  to  self;  the  second  will,  perhaps,  be  devoted 
to  gratitude.  Notwithstanding  his  contemptible  origin, 
the  Samaritan  had  understood  his  duty  in  another  sense. 
Moved  by  a  more  generous  heart,  he  came  to  express  his 

*  It  may  be  noted,  by  the  way,  that  the  leper  had  been  completely  healed ; 
even  his  voice,  which  had  been  hoarse,  at  once  became  strong  (/t*T^  Aoij/tjs 
H(yd\r}s).  These  are  the  details  of  an  Evangelist-physician  such  as  St.  Luke 
was,  and  they  confirm  the  authenticity  of  the  narrative. 

[  472  ] 


BOOK  III]     HOW  THE    FIRST  BECOME   lAST 

thanks  first ;  afterward  he  will  look  to  the  observance  of 
legal  prescriptions.  For  him  the  natural  law  of  gratitude 
takes  precedence  of  the  ceremonial  law  of  purification. 
Therefore  he  has  the  happiness,  while  his  humility  holds 
him  still  at  Jesus'  feet,  of  hearing  these  consoling  words: 
"Arise,  go  thy  way ;  for  thy  faith  hath  made  thee  whole !" 
Does  the  Master  mean  that  He  confirms  his  cure,  while 
He  suspends  that  of  the  nine  others?  Does  He  confer 
also  sanctity  on  his  soul,  after  having  restored  health  to 
his  body?     It  is  not  an  impossible  supposition. 

However  that  may  be,  once  again,  the  last  by  birth  in 
religious  culture  and  in  vocation  to  the  faith,  became  the 
first,  to  the  great  displeasure  of  the  latter,  who  by  their 
evil  dispositions  became  the  last.  No  Pharisaic  murmur- 
ings  can  alter  the  fact.  It  is  better  to  adapt  themselves 
to  it  as  best  they  can,  by  letting  grace  do  Its  work.  Catho- 
licity is  the  great  law  of  the  new  economy.  The  Gospel 
puts  an  end  to  privileges,  and  places  all  men  on  a  basis 
of  perfect  equality.  It  offers,  to  whoever  will  avail  him- 
self of  it,  the  right  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  Kingdom. 
We  find  this  more  explicitly  indicated  in  a  parable  which 
is  generally  misunderstood  by  interpreters,  and  which 
comes  here  in  its  proper  place.  It  treats  of  the  labour- 
ers who  were  sent  into  the  vineyard. 

It  was  the  season  of  the  year  when  the  proprietor  be- 
gins to  take  an  active  interest  in  his  lands.  No  sooner 
are  the  great  rains  over,  than  he  summons  all  hands  to 
stir  up  the  soil,  to  dig  about  the  foot  of  the  vines,  and  to 
spread  manure  to  insure  a  rich  vintage.  It  was,  doubt- 
less, under  the  inspiration  of  the  spectacle  before  His  eyes 
that  Jesus  spoke  as  follows  to  His  hearers :  "The  King- 
dom of  Heaven  is  like  to  an  householder,  who  went  out 
early  in  the  morning  to  hire  labourers  into  his  vineyard. 
And  having  agreed  with  the  labourers  for  a  penny  a  day 

[  473  ] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [paht  second 

he  sent  them  into  his  vineyard.  And  going  out  about  the 
third  hour  he  saw  others  standing  in  the  market-place 
idle."  This  was  in  keeping  with  the  Oriental  custom  that 
brought  together,  with  the  tools  of  their  trade  in  their 
hands,  the  unemployed  labourers,  waiting  for  some  one  to 
hire  them.  "And  he  said  to  them:  Go  you  also  into  my 
vineyard,  and  I  will  give  you  what  shall  be  just.  And 
they  went  their  way.  And  again  he  went  out  about  the 
sixth  and  ninth  hour ;  and  did  in  like  manner.  But  about 
the  eleventh  hour  he  went  out  and  found  others  standing, 
and  he  saith  to  them :  Why  stand  ye  here  all  the  day  idle  ? 
They  say  to  him :  Because  no  man  hath  hired  us.  He  saith 
to  them :  Go  ye  also  into  my  vineyard.  And  when  evening 
was  come,  the  lord  of  the  vineyard  saith  to  his  steward: 
Call  the  labourers  and  pay  them  their  hire,  beginning  from 
the  last  even  to  the  first.  When  therefore  they  were  come 
that  came  about  the  eleventh  hour,  they  received  every  man 
a  penny;  but  when  the  first  also  came,  they  thought  that 
they  should  receive  more ;  and  they  also  received  every  man 
a  penny.  And  receiving  it  they  murmured  against  the 
master  of  the  house,  saying:  These  last  have  worked  but 
one  hour,  and  thou  hast  made  them  equal  to  us  that  have 
borne  the  burden  of  the  day  and  the  heats.  But  he  an- 
swering said  to  one  of  them :  Friend,  I  do  thee  no  wrong ; 
didst  thou  not  agree  with  me  for  a  penny?  Take  what  is 
thine  and  go  thy  way.  I  will  also  give  to  this  last  even 
as  to  thee.  Or,  is  it  not  lawful  for  me  to  do  what  I  will.? 
Is  thy  eye  evil  because  I  am  good.''  So  shall  the  last  be 
first  and  the  first  last." 

It  is  incorrect  to  conclude  that  the  penny  here  given  to 
each  labourer  without  distinction  represents  eternal  life. 
It  can  signify  nothing  else  than  the  revelation  of  the  Mes- 
siah to  souls,  their  vocation  to  the  Messianic  Kingdom,  their 
incorporation  into  the  new  society.    For,  let  it  be  noticed, 

[474] 


BOOK  III]     HOW  THE    FIRST  BECOME   LAST 

this  constitutes  absolutely  the  same  hire  for  all  the  labour- 
ers, while,  according  to  Jesus,  heaven  reserves  for  the  vari- 
ous merits  of  the  elect  various  degrees  of  glory.  More- 
over, it  is  admitted  that  the  jealous  cannot  enter  into 
eternal  bliss ;  and  yet,  according  to  the  parable,  they  would 
be  there  with  rancour  in  their  hearts  and  bitter  words  on 
their  lips.  God  Himself,  were  He  to  grant  an  equal 
recompense  to  the  diverse  works  of  His  servants,  would 
resemble  a  blind,  capricious,  unjust  judge,  unless  we  sup- 
pose that  those  who  were  called  at  the  last  hour  compen- 
sated for  the  brief  duration  of  their  labour  by  its  intensity. 
But  this  would  be  revamping  the  parable  and  inserting  into 
it  what  is  not  there.  For  here  nothing  else  than  the  par- 
tial gratuitousness  of  the  penny  for  the  late  comers  is 
found  emphasised.  But  while  this  gratuitousness  is  very 
justly  predicated  of  grace,  inasmuch  as  grace  always  leaves 
human  liberty  the  right  of  augmenting  merit,  it  is  wrongly 
said  of  eternal  salvation  which  must  be  gained  by  virtue. 
Grace  is  distributed  through  mercy,  salvation  is  adjudged 
in  justice.  Hence,  the  reason  why,  among  so  many  that 
are  called  to  the  light  of  the  Gospel,  there  may  be  but  few 
admitted  to  the  life  of  heaven.  If  the  penny  signified 
paradise,  since  all  the  labourers  assembled  receive  it,  we 
should  be  forced  to  say  that,  contrary  to  the  Master's 
words,  there  are  as  many  chosen  as  called. 

It  is  the  vocation  of  all  peoples  to  the  faith,  without 
distinction  of  race  or  religion,  that  is  manifestly  taught 
in  this  parable.  Jesus  means  to  eradicate,  under  the  eyes 
of  the  Jews  who  hear  Him,  the  scandal  of  a  Samaritan 
leper  entering  into  the  Messianic  Kingdom.  The  house- 
holder is  God  Who  goes  out  to  call  all  men  of  goodwill  to 
labour  in  His  vineyard,  that  is,  for  His  glory,  by  achiev- 
ing their  own  salvation.  As  a  recompense  for  their  efforts 
and  as  a  means  of  obtaining  eternal  life,  He  promises  them 

[475] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

a  Redeemer.  So  fair  a  prospect  should  be  enough  to  spur 
on  even  the  most  lax  and  undecided. 

The  first  to  be  called  are  the  children  of  Israel,  for  as 
we  look  back  from  age  to  age,  we  see  God  ever  exhorting 
them  to  observe  His  law.  We  may  even  say  that  they  are 
born  guests  of  the  Kingdom,  since  their  religious  filiation 
dates  back  through  the  patriarchs  to  Adam.  They,  then, 
have  laboured  long,  but,  like  true  hirelings,  they  did  so 
less  through  love  than  through  self-interest. 

In  the  public  square,  which  is  the  world,  stand  a  multi- 
tude of  souls  eager  for  work  and  awaiting  only  a  summons. 
There  are  found  sinners,  publicans,  Samaritans,  pagan 
philosophers,  those  labourers  anxious  and  discouraged,  for 
they  know  not  whither  their  way  lies.  The  Master  of  the 
vineyard,  as  He  meets  them,  proposes  that  they  hire  them- 
selves out.  It  is  not  merely  by  the  voice  of  conscience  that 
He  speaks  to  them,  otherwise  we  might  say  that  every  man 
has  been  called  from  his  birth.  It  is  by  the  preaching  of 
the  Gospel.  They  are  invited  to  produce  fruits  worthy 
of  penance,  in  order  to  merit  admission  into  the  Church 
which  is  about  to  be  established. 

When  evening  comes,  the  Son  of  Man,  ready  to  depart 
from  earth,  will  make  a  definite  choice  of  citizens  for  the 
Kingdom  which  He  has  founded  here  below.  All  those 
who,  having  been  called  to  repentance  and  to  faith  in  the 
Messiah,  shall  have  responded  generously  to  this  summons, 
shall  see  the  door  of  the  Church  swing  back  before  them, 
let  them  come  whence  they  may  and  be  their  past  what  it 
may.  By  the  sole  fact  that  they  arose  at  the  Master's 
invitation  and  began  their  work,  they  have  won  this  favour. 
Henceforth,  abundant  and  efficacious  divine  grace  shall  be 
at  their  disposal ;  for  to  be  incorporated  into  the  Christian 
society  is  to  have  a  share  in  all  its  treasures.  Such  is  the 
true  signification  of  the  penny.     The  woman  taken  in  sin, 

[476] 


BOOK  III]     HOW  THE    FIRST  BECOME   LAST 

the  publican,  the  Samaritan  have  already  received  it,  since 
they  have  entered  into  the  Kingdom. 

The  Jews,  in  turn,  await  it,  but  they  imagine  it  is  to 
be  given  to  them  in  large  measure.  They  count  on  at 
least  a  place  of  honour  for  themselves  in  the  new  society. 
Since  it  is  not  to  be  so,  their  pride  receives  a  deep-felt 
rebuff.  Then  they  recall  their  long  labours,  and  vaunt 
them.  The  others  have  only  just  come,  while  they  have 
borne  the  crushing  weight  of  the  law  throughout  their 
whole  lives.  In  justice,  is  it  right  to  equalise  them  all 
with  one  and  the  same  recompense.''  As  in  the  parable  of 
the  prodigal,  the  jealous  and  selfish  character  of  the  Jew- 
ish people  reveals  itself  here  in  its  entirety.  The  good 
fortune  of  others  seems  to  them  to  lessen  their  own  good 
fortune.  Gently  does  God  remind  them  that  He  has  ac- 
complished what  was  promised  to  their  fathers,  namely, 
the  manifestation  of  the  Messiah.  The  servile  obedience 
of  this  ungenerous  people  has  therefore  been  fittingly  re- 
paid. It  is  theirs,  if  they  will,  to  seat  themselves  in  the 
light  of  the  Gospel,  and  to  derive  therefrom,  with  the 
others,  life  and  happiness.  The  sun  has  rays  enough  to 
enlighten  without  frustrating  the  rights  of  any,  even  of 
those  who  had  merited  the  reception  of  its  light  to  a  lesser 
degree  than  others.  It  furnishes  light  without  impover- 
ishing itself.  In  like  manner,  God  sets  His  truth  within 
the  reach  of  all.  If  the  Jews  are  more  worthy  of  it  than 
the  rest  of  the  world,  so  much  the  better  for  them ;  later 
on,  they  shall  certainly  be  rewarded  according  to  their 
deserts.  For  the  present,  each  one  has  only  to  take  his 
penny  and  to  make  it  bear  fruit  while  he  awaits  the  future. 
For,  although  the  principal  part  in  the  first  act  of  the 
supernatural  drama  belongs  to  mercy,  in  the  second,  which 
marks  the  critical  stage,  it  will  belong  to  justice.  Then 
only  shall  the  work  of  each  one  be  strictly  appraised  and 

[477] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [paet  second 

duly  rewarded.  The  first  invitation  leads  to-day  to  Jesus, 
the  Saviour ;  the  second  shall  guide  later  on  to  Jesus,  the 
Rewardcr.  Many  may  have  received  the  former,  and  yet 
not  have  the  honour  of  the  latter.  Hence  it  is  said :  "Many 
are  called,  but  few  are  chosen." 

Had  there  been  any  need  of  proving  this  thesis — that 
the  summons  to  the  Kingdom  of  God  on  earth  does  not 
imply  as  a  consequence  admission  into  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven,  and  that,  of  the  two  graces,  man  can  receive  one 
without  obtaining  the  other — an  incident  which  occurred 
almost  immediately  might  have  been  employed  as  a  decisive 
argument. 

As  they  journeyed  on,  a  young  man  of  great  wealth 
and  high  social  position  ^  came  to  meet  the  Saviour.  With 
the  enthusiasm  of  his  age  and  the  faith  of  a  neophyte,  he 
fell  on  his  knees  and  exclaimed :  "Good  Master,  what  shall 
I  do  to  obtain  everlasting  life?"  His  question  bears  wit- 
ness to  an  excellent  desire,  but  the  title  which  he  gives  to 
Jesus  is  insufficient  homage,  if  he  wishes  to  recognise  in 
Him  the  Messiah.  His  fine  burst  of  admiration  gave  hope 
of  a  happier  profession  of  faith.  He  to  Whom  this  new 
proselyte  addresses  himself  is  more  than  a  good  Master. 
Since  Peter's  famous  speech  on  the  way  to  Caesarea  many 
others  have  saluted  Him  as  the  Christ  and  the  Son  of  the 
living  God.  A  light  from  heaven  had  guided  them,  divine 
reasoning  is  now  to  essay  the  instruction  of  this  young 
man.  Jesus  with  His  usual  graciousness  would  lead  him 
by  natural  arguments  to  the  conclusion  which  his  religious 
consciousness  had  not  suggested  to  him.  "Why  dost  thou 
call  Me  good?"  He  says  to  him;  "none  is  good  but  God 

°  The  title  of  ruler  i&pxw),  which  St.  Luke  gives  him,  signifies  doubtless 
that  he  was  the  ruler  of  a  Synagogue,  and,  in  spite  of  his  youth — St.  Matthew 
(xix,  22)  calls  him  yeavlffKos — honoured  with  the  esteem  of  his  fellow- 
citizens.     (Comp.  St.  Luke  viii,  41 ;  St.  Matt,  ix,  18;  St.  Mark  v,  22.) 

[478] 


BOOK  III]     HOW  THE    FIRST  BECOME   LAST 

alone."  Therefore  He  is  not  good  or  He  is  GodJ  The 
dilemma  cannot  be  set  aside.  If  He  is  not  good,  why  be- 
stow this  praise  upon  Him.?  If  He  is  good,  why  not 
salute  Him  as  the  Son  of  God.''  If  the  neophyte  is  still 
undecided  as  to  the  title  which  he  must  give  Him,  let  him 
hold  his  peace.  Respectful  silence  were  less  offensive  than 
a  testimonial  of  human  probity  awarded  to  Him  Who 
participates  in  the  sanctity  of  God.  Jesus  rejects  this 
praise  here  only  because  its  very  insufficiency  renders  it  an 
offence.* 

However,  after  this  first  response,  which  was  to  rectify 
the  ideas  of  this  young  enthusiast  and  to  place  him  on 
the  road  to  a  more  accurate  faith,  the  Master  takes  up  the 
question  which  he  proposed.  "If  thou  wilt  enter  into  life," 
He  says,  "keep  the  commandments."  For  the  law  was 
the  official  guide  that  would  conduct  every  Jew  by  the  hand, 
as  it  were,  to  the  Messianic  Kingdom.  But  this  young 
man,  proud  of  his  virtue  and  proud,  too,  of  his  desire  to 
do  good,  asks  what  commandments  may  be  meant.  Are 
they  the  law  properly  so  called,  or  the  legal  prescriptions, 
not  the  most  ancient,  written  down  in  the  books  of  Moses, 
but  the  most  recent,  invented  by  the  zeal  of  the  Pharisees  ? 
As  for  the  first,  certainly  he  observes  them ;  but  the  sec- 
ond, must  he  keep  them  too?  Are  they  suitable  for 
the  new  Kingdom?  Such  is  the  meaning  of  his  reply: 
"Which?"  With  unfaltering  kindness  Jesus  at  once  en- 
ters into  details :  "Thou  knowest  the  commandments,"  He 
says ;  "thou  shalt  do  no  murder ;  thou  shalt  not  commit 
adultery ;  thou  shalt  not  steal ;  thou  shalt  not  bear  false 
witness ;  honour  thy  father  and  thy  mother,  and,  thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself." 

^  The  Master  here  takes  the  word  good  in  its  most  absolute  sense,  which 
was  not  the  case  with  the  young  man. 

*  On  certain  other  occasions,  in  fact,  He  had  called  Himself  the  Good 
Shepherd. 

[479] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [paht  second 

Jesus  does  not  mention  man's  duties  to  God.  He  sup- 
poses that  His  interrogator  scrupulously  observes  them, 
since,  notwithstanding  his  youth,  he  has  deserved  to  be- 
come ruler  of  a  Synagogue.  He  is  content  with  calling 
his  attention  to  the  laws  of  the  second  table.  They  were 
the  least  respected,  because  they  were  more  directly  op- 
posed to  the  selfish  nature  of  the  Jewish  people.  Through 
fear  and  through  self-interest  these  latter  felt  themselves 
forced  to  serve  God,  while  they  respected  the  rights  of 
men  only  reluctantly  and  with  painful  restraint  of  all 
their  longings.  In  a  moment's  time,  the  young  man 
reviews  his  whole  life,  and  with  innocent  satisfaction  he 
exclaims:  "Master,  all  these  things  I  have  observed  from 
my  youth.  What  is  yet  wanting  to  me?"  On  hearing 
this  response  which  testified  to  an  upright  soul,  although 
somewhat  self-sufficient,  Jesus  looked  at  him  attentively 
and  "loved  him."  ^  His  eye  had  discerned  in  him  a  great 
fund  of  goodness,  checked  in  its  development,  like  the  seed, 
by  the  thorns  of  luxury  and  wealth. 

From  this  fixed  look  upon  the  young  man,  the  expression 
of  which  recalled  that  which  long  before  had  preceded 
Simon  Peter's  vocation, ^^  it  was  easy  to  see  that  the  Mas- 
ter was  on  the  point  of  giving  a  decisive  grace.  "Yet  one 
thing  is  wanting  unto  thee,"  He  said;  "if  thou  wilt  be 
perfect,  go  sell  what  thou  hast,  and  give  to  the  poor ;  and 
thou  shalt  have  treasure  in  heaven ;  and  come,  follow  Me." 

Beyond  and  above  the  divine  precepts  are  the  evangelical 
counsels.  The  man  who  has  fulfilled  God's  law  and  still 
feels  the  desire  of  higher  perfection  has  only  to  conform 
himself  to  them.     To  give  alms,  while  at  the  same  time 

'  This  detail,  with  all  its  delicacy,  is  due  to  the  pen  of  St.  Mark.  Peter, 
accustomed  to  read  in  the  Master's  face  the  impressions  that  moved  His 
soul,  must  have  remembered  this  incident  better  than  the  others,  and  it  was 
from  him,  no  doubt,  that  St.  Mark  received  it. 

"  St.  John  i,  43. 

[  480  ] 


BOOK  III]     HOW  THE    FIRST  BECOME   LAST 

preserving  one's  fortune,  is  well.  But  to  sacrifice  one's 
fortune  itself  is  still  better.  If  the  young  proselyte  feels 
in  himself  the  courage  to  become  perfect,  let  him  imitate 
Him  Whose  advice  he  seeks,  and  detach  himself  from  every- 
thing, as  Jesus  has  done.  In  that  way  he  shall  be  able, 
entering  into  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  absolutely  free,  to 
abandon  himself,  like  a  generous  son,  to  the  good  pleas- 
ure of  his  Father,  and  to  turn  his  mind  unencumbered  to 
the  work  of  doing  good.  Absolute  poverty  is  the  first  re- 
quirement for  the  true  apostolate.  If  he  has  the  courage 
to  reduce  himself  to  it,  he  shall  have  the  honour  of  being 
an  Apostle.     The  reward  is  well  worth  the  sacrifice. 

Unfortunately  this  young  man's  soul  was  enthusiastic 
rather  than  energetic.  To  exalted  temperaments  extreme 
measures  may  appear  smiling  from  afar,  but  near  at 
hand  they  frequently  inspire  terror.  He  would  have  been 
ready  to  do  much,  had  there  been  no  sacrifice  to  make; 
as  if  all  great  achievements  had  not  their  real  foundation 
in  the  immolation  of  him  who  produces  them !  It  was  with 
his  good  dispositions  as  with  the  grain  that  fell  on  soil 
having  no  depth.  They  were  to  perish  while  yet  scarcely 
born.  The  Master's  words  had  troubled  his  soul  like  a 
lightning-stroke.  He  suddenly  drew  back,  and,  finding 
the  goal  beyond  his  strength,  he  showed  his  annoyance.  It 
seemed  painful  to  him  to  make  no  response  to  the  Master's 
words ;  while  to  reply  was  even  more  so.  "Being  struck 
sad  at  that  saying,"  says  the  Evangelist,^  ^  "he  went  away 

"  The  Gospel  of  the  Hebrews,  cited  by  Origen,  in  Matt,  xix,  19,  says: 
"Tlie  rich  man  then  began  to  scratch  his  head;  what  he  had  heard  was  not 
pleasing  to  him.  And  the  Master  said  to  him :  How  can  you  then  pretend 
to  have  fulfilled  the  law  since  it  is  said  in  that  law :  Thou  shalt  love  tliy 
neighbour  as  thyself;  and  yet  there  are  many  of  thy  brethren,  children  of 
Abraham,  like  unto  you,  who  dwell  in  the  mire  and  are  dying  of  hunger, 
while  thou  sittest  at  thy  table  loaded  with  richest  foods,  and  takest  from  it 
nothing  to  cast  to  the  poor?"  The  vulgarity  of  this  amplification  needs  no 
comment.     It  recalls  another  passage,  already  cited,  in  which  the  man 

[  481  ] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [pakt  second 

sorrowful;  for  he  had  great  possessions."  No  one  knows 
if  he  ever  had  the  courage  to  return  to  the  Master.  Grace 
has  its  hour,  and  he  who  contemns  it  one  day  is  not  sure  to 
find  it  the  next. 

As  if  in  painful  surprise  Himself  at  this  failure,  Jesus 
looked  about  upon  those  who  surrounded  Him,  and,  speak- 
ing to  His  disciples,  "How  hardly  shall  they  that  have 
riches,"  He  exclaimed,  "enter  into  the  Kingdom  of  God!" 
The  silence  and  stupefaction  of  the  gathering  into  the 
midst  of  whom  fell  these  words,  accentuated  their  gravity 
and  even  their  awfulness.  The  disciples  were  deeply 
moved.  "Children,"  repeated  the  Master  sympathetically, 
"how  hard  it  is  for  them  that  trust  in  riches,  to  enter 
into  the  Kingdom  of  God !"  For  no  man  can  imagine  a 
stronger  bond  to  rivet  one  to  earth  nor  a  better  food  for 
the  nurture  of  evil  instincts.  In  a  moment  of  enthusiasm, 
one  thinks  himself  capable  of  sacrificing  all,  he  even  offers 
his  life,  as  has  been  said ;  but  when  the  Lord  comes  to  take 
it,  he  finds  it  too  intimately  bound  up  with  self  to  permit 
him  to  part  with  it.  The  soul's  natural  flight  is  toward 
the  Kingdom  of  God ;  but,  tied  down  to  the  goods  of  this 
world,  it  unceasingly  reverts  to  matter  like  the  captive 
bird  whose  flight  a  thread  will  check.  The  greater  the 
wealth,  the  more  numerous  the  bonds !  Hence  not  only 
is  salvation  difficult  for  the  rich,  but,  humanly  speaking, 
for  them  it  is  impossible.  "It  is  easier,"  Jesus  adds,  "for 
a  camel  to  pass  through  the  eye  of  a  needle,  than  for  a 
rich  man  to  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of  God." 

"An  elephant  before  a  needle's  eye,"  ^^  was  a  proverb 

with  the  withered  hand  insists  on  mentioning  in  his  prayer  that  he  is  a  mason, 
etc.     (St.  Jerome,  in  Matt,  xii,  9.) 

'^  See  Lightfoot  and  Schoettgen  on  this  passage,  and  the  Koran,  vii,  38. 
Those  who  have  translated  ko/xi}\oj  by  cable,  have  forgotten  that  it  should 
be  KdixiXos,  and  that  the  turn  of  the  phrase,  with  the  verb  ela-fxeuv,  supposes 
that  he  who  is  to  pass  through  has  feet.  The  explanation  of  those  authors 
who  understand  by  the  eye  of  a  needle  the  low  and  narrow  gates  at  the  entrance 

[482  ] 


BOOK  III]     HOW  THE    FIRST  BECOME   LAST 

in  the  Orient,  employed  to  denote  an  insurmountable  diffi- 
culty. If  Jesus  here  substitutes  "camel"  for  "elephant,"  it 
is  probably  because  the  former  was  the  more  common  among 
the  Jews.  On  hearing  this  new  assertion,  which  trans- 
formed the  difficulty  into  an  impossibility,  the  disciples 
cried  out  in  terror:  "Who  then  can  be  saved?"  Jesus, 
looking  on  them  with  tenderest  mercy,  replied :  "With  men 
it  is  impossible;  but  not  with  God.  For  all  things  are 
possible  with  God."  So  to  reassure  their  discouraged 
zeal,  He  gave  them  to  understand  that  His  terrible  declara- 
tion did  not  condemn  every  apostolate  to  fruitlessness  in 
the  sight  of  wealth.  God's  grace  can  accomplish  that 
which  seems  impossible  to  man's  weakness.  Not  rarely  is 
it  pleased,  now  to  cut  with  violence  the  bonds  that  hold  the 
soul,  that  it  may  soar  at  will,  now,  for  reasons  of  profound 
wisdom,  to  maintain  them  still,  but  so  detested,  or  better 
so  relaxed,  that  in  reality  they  constitute  only  a  humilia- 
tion, and  no  longer  a  danger.  Readiness  for  sacrifice  is 
the  duty  of  all.  Effectual  sacrifice  is  the  glory  of  only 
the  few. 

Peter  perceives  It  well.  Like  the  young  man,  he,  too, 
was  Invited  to  leave  all  and  to  follow  Jesus,  and  he  left  all 
because  God  gave  him  the  courage  to  do  It.  If  he  had  for- 
gotten It,  Jesus's  look  has  just  reminded  him  of  It.  His 
companions  have  done  the  same.  This  thought  emboldens 
him.  "Behold,"  he  cries  out,  "we  have  left  all  things,  and 
have  followed  Thee;  what  therefore  shall  we  have.-*"  It 
may  be  true  that  these  good  Galileans  did  not  sacrifice 
great  riches ;  but  everything  is  relative  In  this  world.  To 
a  fisherman,  his  cabin  and  his  nets  are  a  fortune,  and  he 
parts  with  them  not  without  regret.     The  Apostles'  merit 

of  cities,  strives  especially  to  do  away  with  an  absolute  impossibili^,  and  yet 
it  is  this  same  impossibility  from  a  human  point  of  view  which,  in  a  para- 
doxical form,  Jesus  wishes  to  show. 

[483] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [paet  second 

is  that,  though  having  httle,  they  have  nevertheless  aban- 
doned all,  and  in  this  word  all  are  comprised,  together  with 
the  aurea  mediocritas  of  the  labourer,  the  sweets  of  domes- 
tic life,  and  the  most  legitimate  pleasures  of  the  heart. 
From  this  point  of  view,  they  mean  to  yield  to  none  in  the 
generosity  of  their  sacrifice.  The  rich  young  man,  had 
he  shown  a  little  more  courage,  would  have  assured  himself 
a  treasure  in  heaven;  what,  therefore,  shall  be  theirs.'' 
Jesus  replied:  "Amen,  I  say  to  you,  that  you,  who  have 
followed  Me,  in  the  regeneration,  when  the  Son  of  Man 
shall  sit  on  the  seat  of  His  majesty,  you  also  shall  sit  on 
twelve  seats,  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel." 

The  regeneration  or  palingenesis  here  spoken  of  is  man's 
reinstatement  with  increase,  in  that  condition  of  happiness 
which  was  his  at  the  beginning  of  the  world.  The  Jews 
designated  by  one  of  these  two  names  the  return  of  the  peo- 
ple after  the  captivity  of  Babylon,^^  or  again,  the  renewal 
of  the  earth  after  the  deluge.^  ^  But  in  Christianity  palin- 
genesis can  be  nothing  else  than  the  return  to  the  state 
in  which  mankind  was  with  relation  to  God  before  the  fall. 
It  is  a  new  birth  which  shall  be  effected  when  the  old  man 
is  completely  exterminated.  The  Son  of  God  has  come 
down  to  earth  to  bring  about  this  restoration.  The  Jews, 
mingling  their  carnal  notions  with  a  fact  altogether  spir- 
.  itual,  are  grossly  mistaken  in  looking  for  the  re-establish- 
ment of  the  theocratic  royalty  in  the  natural  and  visible 
order.  They  must  not  hope  for  a  conquering  Messiah. 
If,  after  them,  but  in  another  sense,  certain  Christians 
still  deceive  themselves  and  believe  that  a  thousand  years 
shall  be  given,  at  the  end  of  the  world,  for  the  fulfilment 
of  these  promises  in  a  sphere  wholly  human,  it  is  their  own 
fault.     According  to  the  Master  the  palingenesis,  which 

"  Josephus,  Atdiq.,  ii,  3.  9. 

"Philo,  Vita  Muysis,  lib.  II,  t.  ii,  pp.  114-31. 

[  484  ] 


BOOK  in]     HOW  THE   FIRST  BECOME   LAST 

we  must  identify  with  tlie  inauguration  of  the  Messianic 
reign,  has  begun  in  time  with  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel 
and  shall  be  consummated  in  eternity  by  the  general  judg- 
ment. From  now  on,  the  Apostles  are  going  to  have  their 
reward  in  the  new  Church.  They  are  to  be  its  pillars. 
They  will  sit  as  true  judges,  with  the  mission  of  promul- 
gating doctrine,  of  condemning  error,  of  modifying  disci- 
pline, and  of  propagating  spiritual  powers.  They  will 
govern,  under  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  twelve 
tribes  of  Israel ;  that  is,  the  entire  Christian  society.  This, 
however,  is  to  be  but  the  beginning  of  their  reward.  When 
the  Church  shall  pass  from  time  to  eternity,  at  the  moment 
when  she  shall  have  to  be  judged  in  each  one  of  her  mem- 
bers, they  shall  again  appear  to  deal  out  justice  with 
greater  reason,  since  all  men  shall  be  examined  according 
to  the  principles  of  the  same  faith  of  which  they  shall  have 
been  themselves  the  first  preachers  and  the  models. 

Besides,  though  not  called  to  occupy  a  judge's  throne, 
like  the  Apostles,  every  true  believer  shall  nevertheless  have 
the  twofold  reward  of  the  present  and  of  the  future  life. 
"There  is  no  man,"  Jesus  adds,  "that  hath  left  house,  or 
brethren,  or  sisters,  or  father,  or  mother,  or  children,  or 
lands  for  My  sake  and  for  the  Gospel,  who  shall  not  re- 
ceive an  hundred  times  as  much  now  in  this  time,  .  .  . 
and  in  the  world  to  come  life  everlasting."  From  the  be- 
ginning, in  fact,  the  Church  has  been  able  to  offer  to  him 
who  had  the  courage  to  break  forever  with  paganism,  a 
more  numerous,  more  loving,  better  chosen  family  than  that 
which  he  has  left;  more  considerable  wealth,  since  each  of 
the  faithful  had  a  right  to  the  entire  fortune  of  the  com- 
munity ;  more  real  consolations  in  the  spirit  of  fraternity 
and  the  touching  affection  which  united  in  one  single 
heart  and  one  single  soul  the  members  of  the  new  society. 
This  earthly  reward  has  in  a  measure  disappeared,  as  the 

[  485  ] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [pakt  second 

Church,  spreading  abroad,  has  lost  somewhat  of  her  cohe- 
sion, of  her  severity,  and  of  her  family  spirit.  To  dis- 
cover it  again  in  our  day,  we  must  knock  at  the  door  of 
one  of  the  monasteries  wherein  is  still  perpetuated  the  ideal 
life  of  primitive  Christianity.  To  him  who  gives  himself 
generously,  the  religious  orders  present  a  more  influential 
family,  surer  resources,  and  greater  credit.  This  is  the 
hundredfold  given  on  earth. 

As  for  those  who  follow  Jesus  while  still  clinging  to  their 
human  attachments — and  their  number  has  become  greater 
and  greater,  as  the  danger  of  losing  one's  soul  at  the  do- 
mestic hearth  has  become  less  evident,  and  the  necessity  of 
spreading  the  Gospel  in  the  world  less  urgent — they  have 
separated  themselves  from  the  goods  of  earth  only  in  spirit, 
they  must  expect  only  the  spiritual  reward  in  the  future 
life  after  having  felt  the  worries  of  the  present.  The 
more  they  substitute  God  In  their  hearts  for  the  sensible 
objects  that  beset  them,  the  more  abundantly  shall  they 
find  Him  again  in  eternity.  This  Is  the  hundredfold 
promised  to  their  virtue. 

It  Is  God  Who  will  judge  of  the  detachment  of  each 
one,  and  His  infallible  appreciation  will  more  than  once 
effect  strange  surprises  for  our  short-sightedness.  By  a 
change  as  frequent  as  it  must  be  sudden,  "many  that  are 
first  shall  be  last;  and  the  last  shall  be  first." 


[486] 


CHAPTER    XVIII 

MARRIAGE,   CELIBACY,  AND   CHIL- 
DREN  IN   THE   EYES   OF  JESUS 

The  Great  Question  of  Divorce — Hillel  and  Scham- 
MAL — Jesus  Is  for  God  Against  Both — He  Recalls 
and  Restores  the  Primitive  Ordinance — Admira- 
ble Argumentation — The  Objection  Taken  from 
Moses,  and  Its  Answer — Absolute  Indissolubility 
According  to  the  New  Law — The  Excellence  of 
Celibacy — Benediction  of  Little  Children.  (St. 
Matthew  xix,  3-15 ;  St.  Mark  x,  2-16 ;  St.  Luke  xviii, 
15-17.) 

By  short  journeys  each  day,  Jesus  had  again  reached 
the  confines  of  Gahlee.  Thence  He  crossed  the  Jordan  and 
passed  into  Peraea,  where  the  pilgrims  began  to  arrive 
on  their  way  to  Jerusalem.  No  sooner  had  He  arrived  in 
those  parts  than  He  found  Himself  in  the  presence  of  the 
Pharisees  and  their  evidences  of  hostility.  Certain  repre- 
sentatives of  this  sect,  in  fact,  took  pains  to  surround  Him 
and  endeavoured  to  compromise  Him  by  putting  a  question 
which  it  seemed  He  could  not  answer  without  exciting  the 
most  lively  opposition.  They  began  in  these  terms:  "Is 
it  lawful  for  a  man  to  put  away  his  wife  for  every  cause.?" 
The  Mosaic  law  said :  ^  "If  a  man  take  a  wife  and  have  her, 

*  Deut.  xxiv,  1 . 

[487] 


LIFE   OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

and  she  doth  not  find  favour  in  his  eyes  for  some  unclean- 
ness,  he  shall  write  a  bill  of  divorce  and  shall  give  it  in 
her  hand,  and  send  her  out  of  his  house."  Among  the 
Rabbis  there  was  a  lively  discussion  on  the  meaning  of 
these  words :  Ervath  dabhar.  What  was  to  be  understood 
by  the  uncleanness,  this  unpleasant,  detestable  something 
which,  according  to  Moses,  was  sufficient  cause  for  divorce? 
Hillel,  during  his  life,  and  his  disciples  after  him,  ex- 
pounded the  text  in  its  broadest  sense,  and  granted  the 
husband  the  right  of  divorce  for  any  reason  that  rendered 
his  wife  disagreeable  to  him.  Even  distaste  alone  sufficed 
to  justify  her  dismissal.^  Schammai',  the  chief  of  the 
opposite  school,  would  admit  no  cause  for  divorce  other 
than  adultery,  or  any  crime  against  the  chastity  of  mar- 
riage.^ Perhaps  both  schools  were  far  from  the  truth  in 
their  interpretation  of  this  passage.  For,  on  the  one 
hand,  Schammai  was  mistaken  in  refusing  to  see  in  the 
context  other  causes  of  divorce  than  the  infamy  of  adul- 
tery. If  it  is  sufficient,  according  to  the  text,  that  the 
wife  cease  to  be  pleasing  to  her  husband,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  she  may  come  to  that  pass  without  having  been 
false  to  conjugal  fidelity.  Hillel,  on  the  other  hand,  was 
wrong  in  forgetting  the  spirit  of  the  law,  and  in  holding 
strictly  to  the  letter.  For  he  represented  as  a  good  thing 
that  which  at  bottom  was  an  evil.  To  tolerate  and  to 
approve  are  vastly  different  things.  Moses's  intention,  in 
writing  this  article  of  the  Law,  had  been  to  employ  a 
vague  and  somewhat  obscure  formula,  which  should  restrain 
the  good  and  leave  the  less  virtuous  free.  Not  to  place  too 
many  obstacles  in  the  way  of  capricious  preferences  seemed 

*Cf.  Josephus,  Antiq.,  iv,  8,  23;  Autubiog.,  73;  Ewald,  Jahrb.,  x,  p.  56 
et  seq.  Rabbi  Abika  went  further  and  judged  that  a  man  was  justified  in 
putting  away  his  wife  if  he  had  found  a  more  beautiful  one. 

'  Cf.  Selden,  De  uxor,  hebr.,  iii,  18;  Keil,  Archdol.,  ii,  p.  74. 

[488] 


BOOK  III]    MARRIAGE  IN  THE  EYES  OF   JESUS 

to  be  the  sole  means  of  avoiding  graver  misfortunes.  The 
Law-giver  trusted  to  the  individual  conscience  for  the  legiti- 
macy of  the  motives  which  might  be  invoked.* 

The  two  schools  maintained  their  respective  opinions 
with  ardour,  and  the  Pharisees  would  not  have  been  loath 
to  see  Jesus  take  part  in  this  great  dispute.  If  He  was 
for  Hillel,  He  risked  losing  the  esteem  of  all  those  sincere 
and  rigid  partisans  whom,  till  that  moment,  the  ordinary 
severity  of  His  doctrine  had  gained  Him.  If  He  was  for 
Schammai — and  everything  indicated  that  He  would  lean 
to  this  side — He  would  stir  up  against  Him  the  great  mul- 
titude °  that  loved  to  cloak  its  licentious  conduct  under  the 
appearance  of  legality.  But  this  was  not  the  greatest 
danger.  He  was,  at  the  time,  in  the  territory  of  Herod 
Antipas.  To  defend  severe  principles  on  the  question  of 
the  indissolubility  of  marriage  might  seem  to  be  a  direct 
attack  against  the  Tetrarch  himself.  We  know  that  prac- 
tically the  latter  had  proved  himself  a  cynical  partisan  of 
the  loosest  principles.  He  had  put  away  his  own  legiti- 
mate wife  and  married  his  brother's.  Perhaps  Jesus 
would  be  led  to  take  the  same  attitude  before  him  as  John 
the  Baptist  had,  and  run  the  same  risk. 

The  young  Teacher  was  far  above  such  thoughts.  With 
His  first  word,  and  without  even  discussing  the  arguments 
that  divide  them,  He  decides  against  both  Hillel  and  Scham- 
mai and  shows  that  Moses'  permission  was  a  political  con- 
descension rather  than  the  true  expression  of  the  moral 

*  An  obscure  law  engages  frank  and  honest  men  to  take  the  surest  way. 
They  are  inclined  to  accept  it  ordinarily  in  the  narrowest  sense.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  does  not  stigmatise  the  conduct  of  the  more  lax,  since  it  does 
not  speak  clearly  enough  to  tax  them  with  crime.  In  the  matter  of  divorce 
this  might  have  the  advantage  of  checking  the  immorality  which  threatened 
to  invade  the  Jewish  family,  as  it  had  invaded  the  pagan  family. 

'  The  abuse  of  this  permission  of  Moses  had  reached  the  last  limits  of 
licentiousness  in  the  time  of  Jesus.  The  wife  was  dismissed  for  having 
burnt  a  roast.    (Talmud,  Gittin,  ix,  10;  Delitzsch,  Jesus  und  Hillel,  p.  27.) 

[489] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

law.  It  is  on  the  ground  of  this  law  therefore  that  He 
considers  the  question.  The  primitive  ordinance  of  crea- 
tion is  the  ideal  rule.  The  misfortunes  of  the  times  may 
have  disturbed  it,  but  He  is  come  to  restore  it  in  all  its 
former  perfection  and  purity.  His  argumentation  takes 
no  other  ground  than  that  of  the  Scriptures.*'  "What  did 
Moses  command  you.'"'  He  says  to  them.  "Moses,"  they 
answered,  "permitted  to  write  a  bill  of  divorce,  and  to 
put  her  away."  This  pretentious  reply  of  theirs  serves 
in  itself  as  an  opening  for  the  entire  doctrine  that  Jesus 
here  establishes.^  He  expounds  Moses  by  means  of  Moses, 
and  shows  that  his  concession  of  divorce  was  nothing  else 
than  violence  prudently  inflicted  on  the  legislation  given 
by  God  to  primitive  mankind,  and  whose  limits  and  spirit 
he  himself  has  fixed  in  his  history  of  the  first  man.  "Have 
ye  not  read,"  He  says,  "that  He  Who  made  man  from  the 
beginning,  made  them  male  and  female.?  And  He  said: 
For  this  cause  ^  shall  a  man  leave  father  and  mother,  and 
shall  cleave  to  his  wife,  and  they  shall  be  two  in  one  flesh."  ^ 
Here  then  on  the  first  page  of  the  Old  Testament  are  set 
down  the  manifold  reasons  that  proclaim  the  indissolubility 

'  Once  again,  according  to  this  passage,  we  see  how  the  Saviour  recognised 
and  proclaimed  the  doctrinal  authority  of  the  books  of  Moses.  He  invokes, 
as  undeniable  authority.  Genesis,  in  particular,  and  the  very  passages  which 
are  the  most  suspected  by  modern  critics.  He  gives  us  an  example  of  exegeti- 
cal  comparisons  which  are  to  set  forth  the  truth  in  all  its  aspects.  Taking 
a  portion  of  His  testimony  from  the  first  chapter  of  this  book,  and  a  portion 
from  the  second,  He  implies  that  both  are  not  only  authentic  but  mutually 
complementary. 

'  Observe  the  phrase  fir(Tpe<pey  Moiuo-^s,  in  which  the  verb  attesting  the 
permission  is  emphatically  placed  first. 

'The  expression  *EveK(v  Toirov  refers  to  the  fact  that  God  creating 
them  male  and  female  intended  the  irresistible  attraction  of  one  sex  for  the 
other. 

'  In  Gen.  ii,  24,  it  is  Adam,  and  not  God,  who  speaks  these  words;  but 
Jesus  could  attribute  them  to  God  inasmuch  as  God  inspired  Adam  to  say 
them.  It  has  been  observed  that  the  words  ol  ivo  are  not  found  in  the 
present  Hebrew  text,  but  they  are  in  the  Samaritan  and  in  the  text  of  which 
the  Septuagint  is  a  translation. 

[490] 


BOOK  III]    MARRIAGE   IN  THE  EYES  OF   JESUS 

of  marriage.  Man  and  woman  are  bound  one  to  another 
by  the  most  intimate  ties.  In  the  beginning  they  consti- 
tuted only  one ;  God  created  them  simultaneously,  the 
woman  being  in  the  man  as  an  integral  part.  In  life  they 
should  be  only  one,  since  He  created  them  male  and  female 
in  order  to  establish  a  couple,  the  woman  being  the  natural 
complement  of  man.  He  did  not  create  several  women  to 
permit  Adam  to  change  them  from  time  to  time,  nor  many 
men  to  serve  Eve's  caprice.  Issuing  one  from  the  other, 
they  exist  one  for  the  other,  destined  to  join  their  lives  in 
the  most  complete  union  of  two  beings  forming  only  one 
body  and  one  soul. 

This  instinct  for  oneness  which  God  intended  in  creat- 
ing two  different  sexes,  is  so  strong  that  it  supersedes  all 
others.  The  ties  that  unite  the  son  to  his  father  and  to 
his  mother  are  broken,  to  allow  the  man  to  attach  himself 
to  his  wife,  and  to  become  one  with  her  in  the  embrace  of 
conjugal  union.  Finally  they  constitute  only  one  in  their 
children,  who  are  the  fruit  and  the  living  testimony  of 
their  union ;  for  the  child  is  the  father  and  the  mother 
welded  in  one  single  being.  Can  we  imagine  a  more  real, 
more  intimate,  more  perfect  union  than  this?  "There- 
fore," the  Saviour  goes  on,  "now  they  are  not  two,  but 
one  flesh.  What,  therefore,  God  hath  joined  together, 
let  no  man  put  asunder."  What  admirable  philosophy  in 
these  words !  These  two  beings  have  been  made  for  each 
other;  their  hearts,  their  conduct,  their  mutual  vows  have 
so  affirmed.  They  have  joined  their  lives  by  the  same  fire- 
side, in  the  complete  gift  of  self;  they  have  riveted  their 
two  existences  to  each  other  in  the  mingling  of  their  souls 
and  their  blood.  And  should  man's  caprice  be  enough  to 
efface  all  this.'*  And,  were  it  so,  would  it  be  possible  for 
each  of  the  two  spouses  to  resume  possession,  on  separat- 
ing, of  all  that  each  had  given.''     In  this  breaking  of  the 

[491  ] 


LIFE  OF   CHRIST  [part  second 

conjugal  tie  would  there  not  be  irreparable  damage  done? 
Would  not  that  very  child,  the  living  union  of  them  who 
would  thus  be  parted,  protest,  by  his  misfortune  and  as 
an  interesting  victim,  against  the  iniquitous  separation 
that  would  divide  his  heart,  endanger  his  future,  and  iso- 
late his  life? 

Whatever  argument  may  be  brought  to  its  support, 
divorce,  being  but  the  dissolving  of  the  most  sacred  union 
— the  act  of  the  man  who  divides  himself  and  casts  off  one- 
half  of  his  own  being — shall  always  be,  for  the  truly  wise, 
an  act  contrary  to  nature.  More  powerful  than  all  the 
sophistry  of  passion,  the  interests  of  the  family,  the  good 
order  of  society,  the  very  nature  of  things  should  cry  aloud 
in  attestation  of  this  truth. 

The  teaching  of  the  new  Master  is  therefore  more  severe 
than  that  of  the  old  doctors  of  Israel.  He  finds  the  reasons 
that  sustain  it  not  in  collections  of  civil  ordinances,  but  in 
the  sacred  book  of  natural  law,  which  is  the  human  heart. 
It  is  not  for  one  people,  nor  for  one  epoch,  but  for  all  man- 
kind and  for  all  times  that  Jesus  formulates  His  doctrine. 
He  knows  no  exception  to  that  which  the  Creator's  wisdom 
has  ordained  according  to  the  very  essence  of  things ;  and 
if  there  has  been  any  derogation  from  this  providential 
legislation.  He  Himself  has  come  to  re-establish  it  in  its 
entirety. 

This  language  could  surprise  only  those  who  had  never 
heard  the  Master  discuss  these  delicate  questions.  The 
disciples  knew  long  since  to  what  they  must  adhere.^ *^  Far 
from  being  disconcerted,  however,  the  Pharisees  at  once 
press  upon  Him  an  objection  that  is  somewhat  natural: 
"Why  then,"  they  ask  Him,  "did  Moses  command  to  give 
a  bill  of  divorce,  and  to  put  away?"      Their  allegation 

*"  Cf.  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  St.  Matt,  v,  31,  where  this  question  had 
already  been  treated. 

[  492  ] 


BOOK  III]    MARRIAGE   IN   THE   EYES   OF   JESUS 

had  a  certain  falsity  which  could  not  escape  the  Master's 
divine  sagacity,  and  a  certain  impertinence  that  merited  a 
severe  retort.  Moses  did  not  command,  he  permitted  ^^  the 
putting  away  of  the  wife.  His  command  concerned  the 
conditions  for  procuring  a  divorce,  in  order  to  render  it 
less  frequent.  As  for  divorce  itself,  he  permits  it  to  con- 
tinue as  an  abuse  which  existed  before  him,  and  which  he 
dares  not  suppress,  through  fear  of  producing  a  greater 
evil.  Against  a  right  universally  accorded  to  man,  he 
could  not  advantageously  introduce  into  his  legislation 
anything  more  than  an  obstacle,  and  he  has  done  this  in 
exacting  the  certificate  of  repudiation.  This  had  to  be 
given  in  writing ;  and  as  the  husband  was  most  usually 
unlettered,  some  man  of  the  law,  a  scribe,  was  officially 
called  in.  With  the  authority  Avhich  his  knowledge,  his 
character,  his  experience  conferred  upon  him,  this  latter 
was  enabled  to  attempt  to  restore  peace  in  the  unfortunate 
household.  In  any  case,  the  many  steps  which  the  husband 
Avas  obliged  to  take,  required  time,  and  allowed  the  first 
heat  of  anger  to  cool.  Finally,  by  the  very  fact  that  he 
signed  the  bill  of  divorce,  he  renounced  all  right  to  the 
woman  whom  he  repudiated.  She  was  free  to  become  the 
wife  of  another,  witliout  fear  of  legal  complaint.  All  scan- 
dalous contests  were  suppressed  for  the  future.  Therefore 
Moses  had  neglected  nothing  to  render  divorce  less  fre- 
quent, and  its  consequences  less  disastrous.  To  attempt 
more  would  have  been  to  expose  the  woman  to  frequent 
abuse  and  even  to  endanger  her  life,  whenever  the  mar- 
riage yoke  became  intolerable  to  her  angered  husband. 
By  accepting  Moses'  toleration  as  a  precept,  the  Pharisees 

"  When  tbey  asked  the  question  in  St.  M(irk  \,  4,  they  had  spoken  more 
correctly,  and  jNIoses,  according;  to  them,  had  only  permiltrd  (iirfTptipfv). 
In  formulating  this  objection  in  St.  Matf.  xix,  7,  they  pretend  that  Moses 
has  commanded  {hfTuAaro).  This  change  reveals  the  mahce  of  the  ob- 
jection. 

[493] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [pakt  second 

prove  that  they  have  not  understood  the  spirit  of  his  leg- 
islation. 

"Because  Moses,"  exclaimed  Jesus,  "by  reason  of  the 
hardness  of  your  heart  permitted  you  to  put  away  your 
wives ;  but  from  the  beginning  it  was  not  so."  The  whole 
reason  for  this  condescension  on  the  part  of  the  great  Law- 
giver, since  they  wish  to  know  it,  lies  in  their  malice.  The 
New  Law,  which  now  becomes  the  law  of  the  future,  shall 
pay  no  thought  to  those  of  evil  heart,  but  shall  be  occupied 
solely  with  those  good  souls  to  whom  it  is  enough  to  dis- 
close the  providential  order  that  they  may  have,  in  spite 
of  all,  the  courage  to  comply  with  it.  "And  I  say  to 
you,"  the  Master  added,  "that  whosoever,  even  ^-  though 

'-  This  interpretation  is  not  derived,  any  more  than  the  others,  from 
the  commonly  accepted  text.  The  best  manuscripts  have  fi^  iirl  nopvela; 
and  why,  instead  of  understanding  el  iu.-fi,  should  we  not  say:  fxr]  Kal  iirl 
iropvela?  The  parallel  passages  in  St.  Mark  and  in  St.  Luke  admit  no 
exception  to  the  indissolubility  of  marriage— and  this  would  seem  decisive. 
The  teaching  of  St.  Paul  is  explicit  on  this  point.  The  most  ancient  doctrine 
of  the  Roman  Church  has  never  varied,  notwithstanding  the  embarrassing 
text  of  St.  Matthew.  Her  greatest  reason  was  that  the  very  conclusion  of 
Our  Lord's  theological  and  moral  considerations  on  the  institution  and 
primitive  essence  of  marriage,  logically  led  to  absolute  indissolubility. 
Everything,  therefore,  seems  to  forbid  any  possible  exception.  But,  the 
text  being  given  as  we  have  it,  is  there  any  means  of  getting  rid  of  that  ex- 
ception other  than  that  which  is  proposed  above.'  To  say  that  Jesus  here 
authorises  the  simple  separation  of  bodies  is  neither  according  to  the  evident 
meaning  of  His  words,  nor  in  keeping  with  the  history  of  Christianity  which 
has  admitted  other  grounds  for  separation  besides  fornication.  To  admit 
that  there  is  here  a  most  ancient  interpolation  inspired  by  a  conciliatory 
disposition  and  through  fear  of  a  law  apparently  too  rigorous,  is  certainly 
not  impossible,  and  the  three  words  in  question  have  indeed  the  appearance 
of  this,  but  such  procedure  is  at  all  times  violent,  especially  when  not  a 
single  variation  is  found  suppressing  the  whole  passage.  It  is  true,  never- 
theless, that  there  are  many  changes  in  the  different  versions.  (See  Hug, 
De  Indissol.  Matrim.  Vine.)  Finally,  to  suppose  that  Jesus  Christ  gave 
the  Jews  a  mitigated  doctrine  in  admitting  before  them  an  exception  which 
He  particularly  suppressed  before  His  disciples,  as  some  would  conclude  from 
St.  Mark's  text,  seems  to  be  scarcely  in  harmony  with  the  Master's  courageous 
frankness.  The  suppression  of  the  kuI  after  ^urj,  on  the  part  of  the  copyist, 
may  be  accounted  for  by  the  resemblance  between  the  monosyllables  Kai 
and  iirl,  which  a  copyist  might  have  confounded.  In  any  hypothesis,  we 
must  understand  a  word  which  completely  changes  the  meaning  of  the 

[494] 


BOOK  III]    MARRIAGE   IN  THE   EYES  OF   JESUS 

it  be  for  fornication,  shall  put  away  his  wife  and  shall 
marry  another,  conniiitteth  adultery."  Such  is  the  New 
Law,  which  is  only  a  restoration  of  the  primitive  law. 
God  alone  can  by  death  separate  that  which  in  His  wisdom 
He  had  destined  to  remain  indissolubly  united.  Marriage, 
so  long  dishonoured,  shall  thus  regain  all  its  holiness  and 
its  grandeur.  If  the  Pharisees  desired  to  know  the  Mas- 
ter's mind,  they  have  just  heard  it  fully  spoken.  Jesus 
offers  no  conciliatory  policy  either  to  Hillel  or  to  Scham- 
mai' ;  He  is  opposed  to  both  and  for  God  alone.  IVIany  will 
think  such  perfection  in  marriage  impossible ;  but  He 
knows  that  by  His  grace  His  faithful  will  attain  to  it. 
From  the  generous  sacrifice  of  both  spouses,  destined  hence- 
forth to  bear  with  each  other  in  patience,  remaining,  in 
spite  of  everything,  indissolubly  united,  shall  spring  the 
Christian  family  with  its  true  grandeur,  its  purity,  and  its 
harmonious  development.  The  absolute  indissolubility  of 
marriage  may  be  an  evil  for  some,  but  it  is  a  benefit  to  the 
great  majority.  This  is  enough  to  insure  its  maintenance. 
The  severity  of  these  last  words  of  the  Master,  which 
suppressed  every  cause  of  divorce,  seemed  strange  even  to 
His  disciples.  When  they  were  again  with  Him  in  the 
house  where  He  lodged,  they  began  to  question  Him  for 
further  enlightenment.  Jesus  simply  replied:  "Whoso- 
ever shall  put  away  his  wife  and  marry  another,  commit- 
teth  adultery  against  her ;  and  if  the  wife  shall  put  away 
her  husband,  and  be  married  to  another,  she  committeth 
adultery."  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Jewish  law  did  not 
admit  the  latter  hypothesis.  It  gave  the  woman  the  right 
to  act  only  indirectly  in  order  to  obtain  a  divorce ;  but  the 

negative  fir).  Why  not  add  Kal  after  /j.'fi,  instead  of  putting  el  before  it? 
There  is  nothing  to  sustain  the  hitter  addition,  which  creates  a  notable 
divergency  between  St.  Matthew  and  the  two  Synoptics;  there  is  every 
reason  for  adopting  the  first,  which  restores  perfect  harmony  between  the 
Evangehst  and  the  most  true  and  rational  teaching  of  Christianity. 

[495] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [pakt  second 

pagan  customs  of  Greece  and  Rome  had  begun  to  be  intro- 
duced ^'^  into  Judea.  Salome  had  been  known  to  send  her 
bill  of  divorce  to  her  first  husband  Costobar,  and  Herodias 
had  abandoned  Philip  to  marry  Antipas.  Jesus  was  in- 
tent, therefore,  on  making  it  understood  that  the  indissolu- 
bility of  the  conjugal  tie  was  not  only  for  the  advantage 
of  the  wife,  but  that  it  could  be  also  for  the  interest  of 
the  husband,  if  corrupt  times  and  a  lofty  position  should 
ever  afford  a  guilty  woman  privileges  as  great  as  her 
immorality. 

With  increased  astonishment  the  disciples  exclaimed: 
"If  the  case  of  a  man  with  his  wife  be  so,  it  is  not  expe- 
dient to  marry  !"  They  thought  they  spoke  a  paradox. 
Jesus  accepts  their  exclamation  as  a  truth  of  which  He 
constitutes  Himself  advocate,  while  He  declares  it  imprac- 
ticable for  the  greater  number.  "All  men  take  not  this 
word,"  He  said,  "but  they  to  whom  it  is  given."  For  the 
vast  majority  of  the  human  race  feel  themselves  called  to 
the  married  state,  and  the  thought  of  the  grave  worries 
that  this  state  induces  cannot  deter  them  from  it.  Provi- 
dence has  so  willed  it  to  insure  the  preservation  and  the 
increase  of  the  human  species.  As  a  counter-weight  to 
the  serious  outlook  of  fatherhood,  God  has  placed  in  man's 
heart  a  sentiment  powerful  enough  to  disguise  all  the  wor- 
ries of  the  future:  this  is  love's  hunger,  the  desire  of  re- 
newed life  in  another  self,  and  hence  that  amazing  instinct 
that  grasps  the  entire  human  being  and  impels  him  un- 
consciously to  a  heroic  life  of  sacrifice  and  devotion.  The 
cry  of  nature  is  so  strong  that  only  three  classes  of  men 
resist  it  with  diverse  merit.  "For,"  says  Jesus,  "there  are 
eunuchs,  who  were  born  so  from  their  mother's  womb ;  and 
there  are  eunuchs,  who  were  made  so  by  men ;  and  there  are 

^^  Josephus,  Antiq.,  xv,  7,  10. 

[  496  ] 


BOOK  III]    MARRIAGE   IN   THE  EYES  OF   JESUS 

eunuchs,  who  have  made  themselves  eunuchs  for  the  King- 
dom of  Heaven.     He  that  can  take,  let  him  take  it !" 

The  first  are  they  to  whom  nature  has  denied  all  the 
physical  or  moral  aptitudes  for  the  married  state,  hearts 
without  affection,  lives  without  expansion,  dormant  waters 
that  no  breath  can  agitate,  and  who  live  and  die  without 
excitement  and  without  beauty.  They  embrace  celibacy 
by  temperament,  unaware  of  any  sacrifice,  when  they  do 
not  mean,  thereby,  to  devote  themselves  to  their  own  selfish 
interests. 

The  second  are  condemned  to  this  sad  lot  in  spite  of 
themselves.  Society  has  imposed  its  exactions  on  them ;  it 
reduces  to  impotency  their  most  ardent  aspirations.  They 
champ  the  bit  which  they  must  endure.  Their  life  is  a 
meritless  pain,  and  their  chastity  is  in  danger  of  becoming 
a  state  of  perpetual  impurity.  Such  is  the  lot  of  the  many 
youths  whom  a  nation  keeps  under  arms,  or  to  whom  the 
thoughts  of  a  great  future  forbid  the  immediate  thoughts 
of  marriage,  not  to  speak  of  those  whom  caprice,  jealousy, 
or  the  speculation  of  men  have  cruelly  mutilated. 

Finally,  there  is  the  third,  and  to  them  alone  does  Jesus 
wish  to  call  His  disciples'  attention,  who  have  hearts,  veins, 
souls  full  of  life.  Earth  invites  them  to  the  most  lawful 
pleasures  and  to  the  noblest  hopes.  Nature  holds  out  to 
them  the  pacific  sceptre  of  fatherhood,  the  sweet  joys  of 
family  life,  and  the  opportunity  still  of  affording  great 
examples  of  virtue  in  the  holiness  of  matrimony.  They 
have  questioned  heaven,  and,  in  the  depths  of  their  soul, 
God's  voice  has  responded  to  them  that  they  were  to  re- 
serve themselves,  in  a  supreme  immolation,  for  Him  alone. 
At  once  the  dear  dreams  of  youth  fled  away,  the  hopes 
of  the  future  expired.  Their  blood  cries  out  in  vain. 
The  will  lays  hold  upon  the  sacrificial  knife,  and,  needing 
not  the  barbarous  courage  of  the  Orient,  it  cuts  to  the 

[497] 


LIFE  OF  CHRIST  [part  second 

quick,  and  with  the  word,  which  is  a  vow,  it  severs  half 
the  man,  and  henceforth  hfe  affords  him  for  consolation 
only  spiritual  affection ;  for  f ruitf ulness,  only  a  super- 
natural fatherhood  that  begets  souls ;  for  a  purpose,  only 
the  hope  of  glorifying  God.  After  the  bloody  sacrifice 
which  of  old  our  fathers  offered  to  their  divinities,  there 
is  none  grander,  more  painful  than  this.  It  was  required 
that  the  Master  Himself  should  provoke  it,  that  mankind 
might  venture  to  present  it.  With  what  discretion  Jesus 
speaks  of  it  here,  after  having  begun  by  practising  it 
Himself !  And  lo,  for  eighteen  centuries  a  legion  of  young 
heroes  ever  renewed  suffer  not  the  Evangelical  counsels  to 
fall  to  the  ground.  They  show  to  the  world  what  an 
energetic  faith  can  do,  and  to  the  Church  what  the  man 
who  has  taken  the  vow  of  virginity  can  undertake  for  her 
glory. 

He  Who  proposed  to  a  few  this  terrible  immolation,  and 
Who  furnished  an  example  of  it  Himself,  was  not,  however, 
a  man  without  a  heart.  Volvmtary  chastity  does  not  kill 
the  sensitiveness  of  the  heart,  it  develops  it,  and  no  one  is 
more  delicately  tender  than  he  whose  purity  preserves  and 
guides  all  his  affections. 

He  was  well  understood  by  those  pious  women,  who  at 
once  crowded  around  the  young  Master,  asking  Him  to 
bless  their  children.  They  had  no  fear  of  finding  Him  too 
far  above  their  maternal  demands.^*  Could  He  Who  had 
spoken  so  well  of  marriage,  of  its  grandeur  and  its  sane- 
tit}^,  refuse  a  benevolent  smile  to  the  young  family  which 

^*  At  this  point  the  Synoptics  once  more  agree.  St.  Matthew  (xix,  3)  and 
St.  Mark  (x,  2)  place  the  question  on  divorce  at  the  moment  when  they  were 
entering  Persea.  St.  Luke  (xvi,  18),  having  found  only  a  word  on  this 
question  in  the  dociuiients  at  his  disposal,  has  located  it  haphazard,  like 
almost  all  the  fragments  from  the  middle  of  this  chapter  as  far  as  xviii, 
15,  without  seeking  to  attach  it  to  an  incident  of  which  he  knew  nothing. 
These  breaks  in  continuity  and  the  appearance  of  disorder  found  in  St. 
Luke  are  a  proof  of  his  conscientious  accuracy. 

[498] 


BOOK  III]    MARRIAGE   IN  THE   EYES  OF   JESUS 

was  its  fruit?  They  hastened,  therefore,  in  crowds  from 
all  directions.  The  Jews  believed  that  for  a  prophet  and 
a  just  man  to  impose  his  hands  on  a  little  child  was  ever 
a  presage  of  happy  days.  Although  this  young  genera- 
tion has  not  been  able  to  hear  the  Messiah's  words,  at  least 
let  it  receive  the  influence  of  His  grace  through  His  loving 
touch. 

The  disciples,  concluding  that  this  outbreak  of  devo- 
tion is  ill-timed,  are  angered  at  the  importunate  people 
and  make  an  effort  to  repel  them.  How  little  they  com- 
prehend the  Master's  inexhaustible  benevolence!  He  is 
pained  at  this,  and  in  His  displeasure  He  reproves  them: 
"Suffer  the  little  children,"  He  says,  "and  forbid  them 
not  to  come  to  Mc,  for  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  for  such. 
Amen,  I  say  to  you,  whosoever  shall  not  receive  the  King- 
dom of  God  as  a  little  child,  shall  not  enter  into  it."  In 
these  little  beings  He  beholds  born-citizens  of  the  Heavenly 
Kingdom ;  beneath  the  candid  grace  of  their  young  brows. 
He  contemplates  the  goodness  of  their  souls,  and  in  their 
artless  simplicity,  in  their  filial  confidence,  He  salutes  faith 
and  humility,  the  two  virtues  that  open  the  gates  of  heaven. 
And  so  He  reminds  the  disciples,  by  the  way,  that,  to  be 
saved,  they  must  become  as  little  children.  The  latter  do 
not  argue  with  their  father;  they  believe,  they  hope,  they 
love. 

And,  as  He  spoke,  Jesus  took  into  His  arms  these  living 
images  of  believing  souls.  He  blessed  them  tenderly,  and, 
to  the  great  joy  of  their  fathers  and  mothers,  bestowed 
upon  them  His  choicest  favours. 

END    OF    VOLUME    II 


[499] 


DATE  DUE 


*r:rr3& 

*^'. 

^.  .'^--m- 

■iiAk 

GAVLORO 

PdlNTEOINU.S.A. 

iiinnii 


